PUTRAJAYA: THE Election Commission (EC) has fixed July 24 as polling day for the Kuala Besut by-election.
Its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said nomination day was July 12 and early voting on July 20.
He said it was not unusual for polling to be held in the fasting month as it had also been done previously, as in the case of the Permatang Pasir and Lunas by elections in 2000 and 2009 respectively.
"We decided that the polling day should be held in July as there is no need to prolong the unofficial campaigning period.
"Right after June 26 (when the assemblyman for Kuala Besut died), unofficial campaigning started.
"The longer we delay the announcement of the date of the by-election, the longer the campaigning will go on."
The Kuala Besut seat fell vacant following the death of its assemblyman Dr A. Rahman Mokthar on June 26. Dr Rahman died at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital of lung cancer.
The by-election, the first to be held after the 13th General Election, is expected to cost the EC RM760,000 and involve 305 election workers, with one returning officer and three assistant returning officers overseeing the process.
Aziz said the 2011 main electoral roll would be used for the by-election which would be combined with the additional electoral roll that was gazetted by the commission on June 26.
Based on the electoral roll, there are 17,683 voters in Kuala Besut, with 16,534 ordinary voters, 1,134 military personnel and their spouses, 14 policemen and one absentee voter who lives abroad.
Aziz said indelible ink would also be used in the by-election despite controversy sparked following its usage in the 13th General Election.
However, he said a different ink would be used for the by-election following weaknesses of the indelible ink used in GE13.
The nomination centre for the by-election will be at Kompleks Rakan Muda Kampung Raja, Besut and Dewan Majlis Daerah Besut will be used as the tallying centre.
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