NOMINATION of candidates for the Johor elections commences today at 56 nomination centres that will open at 9am.

The process of submitting candidate nomination papers will close one hour after that. 

As soon as the nomination of candidates is completed, the returning officer will declare the candidates eligible to contest in the elections.

According to the standard operating procedure (SOP) on Covid-19 prevention issued by the Election Commission (EC), gatherings and processions by party supporters are not allowed at nomination centres.    

Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN), and Pakatan Harapan (PH) with their strategic partners Parti Ikatan Demokratik Malaysia (Muda), Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang), Parti Warisan (Warisan), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) have confirmed contesting in the polls.

It is expected that 223 candidates from the parties will submit nomination forms today.

As of last Thursday, a total of 894 nomination forms have been sold.

Unlike the recent polls in Malacca and Sarawak, the EC has permitted talks, lectures and campaigns to be held physically, as well as door-to-door visits during the 14-day campaign period.

However, talks and campaigning are only allowed at party offices and official party operations rooms with not more than 100 people in attendance and the organisers must obtain a police permit prior to the events.

The duration for each session of talks, lectures, campaigns is limited to two hours and must end by 10pm, while talks, campaigns and lectures in open premises or public places are not allowed.

For door-to-door campaigning, there should not be more than five persons in a team and the persons are not allowed to enter homes or meet family members and the distribution of leaflets can be only be done outside the fence.  

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) has forecasted rain in one or two places in Johor in the morning, evening and night.

The EC has set polling day for March 12 and early voting on March 8.

There are 2,574,835 normal voters from the overall of 2,597,742 voters registered to vote in the state elections.

From the overall total,  22,531 people are early voters consisting 10,955 armed forces personnel and their spouses, while 11,576 are police personnel, in addition to the 376 absent voters from abroad. – Bernama, February 26, 2022.