The Election Commission (EC) has warned party supporters not to prevent voters from entering Kuala Berang to cast their ballots at tomorrow's by-election.

Its secretary Wan Ahmad Omar ( photo, left ) said many "legitimate voters" will return to the constituency and they should not be obstructed by overzealous party supporters.

"Don't do something without checking properly as this will affect the smooth running of the polling process," he said.

"For instance in Lunas, certain quarters took over the job of the police," he told a press conference at the EC office in Kuala Berang today.

During the 2001 Lunas by-election in Kedah, opposition supporters had tried to block several buses which they claimed ferried phantom voters.

Wan Ahmad said action could be taken under the Police Act against those who ignored the commission's warning. The police have arrested 10 opposition leaders in the Lunas incident .

A total of 11, 429 voters will cast their ballots at 10 polling stations for the state seat, which fell vacant following the demise of BN incumbent Komaruddin Abd Rahman last month.

Tomorrow's contest will see a battle between BN's Mohd Zawawi Ismail and PAS' Muhyidin Abdul Rashid.

Phantom voters

Meanwhile, Wan Ahmad, when asked if the commission has taken steps to act against phantom voters, said the issue does not arise as the commission has already screened the voters.

However, PAS by-election campaign director Harun Taib said his party is expecting BN to bring some 1,000 phantom voters.

To another question, Wan Ahmad said EC does not monitor the campaigning expenses of candidates.

"According to the law, the candidate is required to submit a campaigning expenditure declaration after the election, so we don't monitor," he added.

He also suggested that there is no distinction between the candidate and the candidate's party when asked to comment on whether a candidate exceeds the maximum expenses based on the number of posters put up.

"Those (posters) are made by the party, not the candidate... this is the same in all parties. It is an accepted political culture in this country," he said.

Wan Ahmad also reminded all voters to bring their identification cards, or other certified documents, when they come to vote tomorrow.

He said that those who do not have their IC cards can bring along a photo ID, such as the driver's licence.

The EC secretary said the polling process will end at 5pm and counting will start at 5.30pm.

The tallying process is to begin at about 6.30pm and the result is expected to be announced by 9pm.