N SEMBILAN POLLS | Negeri Sembilan Pakatan Harapan chairperson Aminuddin Harun has questioned the Election Commission’s pilot implementation of a new voter verification system, saying it should have been discussed with candidates beforehand.

Aminuddin said the optical character recognition-voter attendance (OCR-VA) system introduced at the SMA Dato’ Klana Petra Maamor polling centre could slow down the voting process and frustrate voters.

“We do not know what is being introduced or whether it will actually help.

“We are worried that this could disrupt voting today. It may slow things down, and people could become angry,” Aminuddin, who is Harapan’s Linggi candidate, was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today after casting his ballot at Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Raja Melewar this morning.

The EC is piloting the OCR-VA system at the Ampangan polling centre for polling streams one to seven.

The system automatically scans information from voters’ MyKad to record attendance, replacing manual verification.

The EC previously said the system was introduced to speed up voter verification, reduce manual errors, and improve polling efficiency, while stressing that it does not record how voters cast their ballots or compromise ballot secrecy.

According to FMT, Harapan’s Ampangan candidate Nazri Kassim also questioned the timing of the pilot project, saying candidates had not been informed beforehand.

EC targets 75pct turnout

Separately, Bernama reported that EC chairperson Ramlan Harun visited SMA Dato’ Klana Petra Maamor and two other polling centres in Sikamat - Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Paroi Jaya and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Sheikh Haji Mohd Said - earlier today.

During the visits, Ramlan received briefings from election officials on the voting process and inspected facilities provided for voters and election personnel.

The EC is targeting an overall voter turnout of 72-75 percent.

Preliminary results are expected as early as 10pm, with the full results expected before midnight.

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