KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Election Commission (EC) has invited 14 countries to participate in the May 9 polls as foreign observers.

The EC's press release announcing the official election dates on Tuesday (April 10) said the observers comprised representatives of election management bodies from the Association of South-east Asian nations , the Commonwealth, Asian and European countries as well as a study and support centre for the Malaysian Commonwealth Studies Centre based in Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Seven countries have so far agreed to send representatives to observe the 14th general election, the Malaysiakini news website reported. They were Indonesia, Thailand, Maldives, Timor Leste, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan.

Some 14.9 million registered voters are expected to cast their ballots which will see the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional pitted against the Pakatan Harapan opposition alliance and the Parti Islam SeMalaysia.

Nomination day for candidates will be on April 28, after which parties can begin campaigning, the EC announced on Tuesday (April 10).

Early voting will be held on Saturday, May 5 for over 300,000 registered early voters largely comprising army personnel, policemen and their spouses.