THE Election Commission decided to postpone September next year lowering the voting age to 18 and automatically registering voters.

Election Commission chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said implementing the two measures had been affected by the movement control order imposed in the Covid-19 pandemic fight.

“Despite this preparation for automatic voter registration, Undi 18 is still ongoing. This included the development of the system to register voters and consultations with the various stakeholders”

“However, the EC is realistic with the current developments and situation in the country, which generally is still under the MCO to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This directly affects the EC’s planning and preparations.

“As such, automatic voter registration and Undi18 is expected to be implemented after September 1, 2022, after evaluating the various obstacles and issues which have affected the EC’s plans and early preparations,” he said in a statement today.

The minimum voting age was lowered to 18 from 21 previously after the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on July 16, 2019, followed by approval by the Dewan Negara on July 25, 2019.

Ghani said based on the latest data available to the commission, there are 5.6 million citizens aged 18 and above, of which 1.2 million are aged between 18 and 20.

He said some 4.4 million are aged 21 and above but have not registered to vote.

Ghani advised them to register at the nearest EC office, post office or through its website online. – March 25, 2021.