LUBOK ANTU, 7 April 2009: Vote-counting for the Batang Ai state by-election started at the sports complex hall here at 3.04pm.
The first votes to be counted were those from the polling stations at Sesco Township Hall, Kerangan Mong Kemas kindergarten and the Batu Kaya Sacra Multipurpose Hall.
It is learnt that as at 3pm, 12 of the 25 ballot boxes had been received at the vote-tallying centre.
Barisan Nasional (BN) Batang Ai election director Datuk Seri Dr James Jemut Masing, who is Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president, was among those who were at the centre.
Six of the 25 polling stations closed early, at 11am, because of the small number of voters involved.
Most of the polling stations are in the interior where the majority of the voters are Ibans and the Election Commission had to use helicopters and boats to ferry the ballot boxes.
Police estimated that more than 60% of the 8,006 voters had cast their votes by 3pm.
The results are expected as early as 8.30pm.
Meanwhile, polling in the other two by-elections in the Bukit Selambau state constituency in Kedah and the Bukit Gantang parliamentary seat in Perak is still in progress. — Bernama
