The 13th general election is shaping up to be the most hotly contested general election ever in Malaysia.

The anticipation generated by the campaigns run by parties running in this election has whipped up voter interest to to near frenzy. Turnout is likely to be very heavy come May 5.

Every true Malaysian who turns up to vote on Sunday must be given the opportunity to do so.

I have fears, however, that new procedures that are being introduced coupled with unprecedented turnout may cause gridlocks at many polling stations.

For the first time, indelible ink is being used. Unlike most other countries, the ink will be applied before the voter casts his ballot.

Voters will take precious time waiting for the ink to dry and cleaning up excess ink before filling in their ballot.

They will be extra careful for fear of tainting their ballot with ink stains. Messages have been posted online that say that stained ballots may be declared as spoilt votes.

The Election Commission staff on duty on Sunday will be carrying out these new procedures for the first time, too. There is every chance that they, too, will be slow as they will be effectively learning on the job.

I call upon the EC to publicly declare that they will not turn away anyone who is waiting to vote simply because it is 5pm.

In many other countries, all voters standing in the line when the polls close are allowed to cast their ballot.

The EC should announce immediately that the same will be done in Malaysia. At 5pm, no one will be allowed to join the queue but everyone in the line will be processed and allowed to vote.

The EC is empowered to do this and there is no need to wait until there is confusion on that day before making the decision.

It should also declare that ballots that have inadvertent indelible ink stains but have the X clearly marked for one candidate will not be rejected.

There is precedence in Malaysia that enables the EC to make this decision. In the last general election, I believe voting times were extended in Gombak because of some issues.

I laud the EC for introducing indelible ink in this GE. However, the EC has a higher responsibility to ensure that the right of a voter to cast his or her ballot is not taken away by the introduction of this procedure.