Melaka polls: 240 polling centres across state open simultaneously at 8am for 675,166 Melaka voters

Members of the public begin flocking to the polling centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Demang Hussin to fulfil their responsibilities as voters in the 16th Melaka state election November 14, 2026. — Bernama pic

Summary

- A total of 240 polling centres with 1,213 streams opened at 8am for the 16th Melaka state election, with voting continuing until 6pm. - 675,166 ordinary voters are expected to cast their ballots, contributing to a projected 70% turnout among 687,697 registered voters. - 79 candidates, including 24 from Pakatan Harapan, are contesting 28 state seats after the 15th Melaka State Assembly's dissolution on September 23.

First Published: Saturday, 14 Nov 2026 8:53 AM MYT

MELAKA, Nov 14 — A total of 240 ordinary polling centres, with 1,213 polling streams, for the 16th Melaka state election opened simultaneously at 8am today, allowing voters cast their ballots and elect a state government for the next term.

The Election Commission (EC) said a total of 675,166 ordinary voters were eligible to cast their ballots to elect representatives for the 28 state constituencies, with voter turnout expected to reach 70 per cent.

Polling today is scheduled to continue until 6pm, following the end of the 14-day campaigning period at 11.59pm last night.

Overall, a total of 687,697 registered voters are eligible to vote in this election, including 12,531 military personnel, their spouses and police personnel who had cast their ballots during early voting on Tuesday.

Early voting, which involved 31 polling centres, recorded a physical turnout of 9,417 voters, or 94.96 per cent of the 9,917 eligible voters, while another 2,614 voted by post.

A total of 79 candidates from various political parties and independents are contesting the 28 state seats in this election, following the nomination process on October 31.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) has the highest number of candidates at 24, followed by Barisan Nasional (BN) with 23, Parti Bersama Malaysia (16), Bersatu (seven), Perikatan Nasional (PN) (five), Parti Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (one) and three independent candidates.

The election was called following the dissolution of the 15th Melaka State Legislative Assembly on September 23, with the consent of Melaka Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Mohd Ali Rustam.

In the 15th Melaka State Election held on November 20, 2021, BN won 21 of the 28 state seats, while PH secured five and PN two.

For the latest updates on the 16th Melaka State Election, visit https://election.bernama.com/prn/melaka/2026/. — Bernama