News analysis

Wednesday election seen as part of moves to shore up BN's vote share

Election Commission chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah arriving for a press conference in Putrajaya yesterday. The commission has said that Malaysians living in Singapore, south Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia's Kalimantan must return to their home states
Election Commission chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah arriving for a press conference in Putrajaya yesterday. The commission has said that Malaysians living in Singapore, south Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia's Kalimantan must return to their home states in Malaysia to vote. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Election Commission chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah arriving for a press conference in Putrajaya yesterday. The commission has said that Malaysians living in Singapore, south Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia's Kalimantan must return to their home states
Election Commission chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah arriving for a press conference in Putrajaya yesterday. The commission has said that Malaysians living in Singapore, south Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia's Kalimantan must return to their home states in Malaysia to vote. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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In the last 10 Malaysian national polls, only two saw voter turnouts that were lower than 70 per cent.

These were in 1995 (68.3 per cent) and 1999 (69.3 per cent), when polling was on a Monday.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 11, 2018, with the headline Wednesday election seen as part of moves to shore up BN's vote share. Subscribe