A total of 28 polling centres, with 90 polling streams, opened at 8am today for the Sungai Besar parliamentary by-election to enable 42,365 voters to elect their new MP.

A check at several polling centres showed people already gathering to exercise their right, though the sky was downcast.

Mohamed Chat, 64, was the first to cast his ballot at the polling centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan Parit Empat.

A spokesman for the Election Commission said all the polling centres, 24 at schools and four at community halls, would close at 5pm.

On June 14, some 265 of the 286 early voters cast their ballots at two polling centres at the Sabak Bernam District Police headquarters here.