KUCHING: A low voter turnout is anticipated in the 15th general election (GE15) which will be held on Nov 19, says Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (ASPIRASI) president Lina Soo.
She said the expected low turnout of voters would be due to political fatigue.
“I predict a low turnout this election because political fatigue is here to stay. Many are going to throw in the towel and give up on choosing the government since neither political bloc, Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Harapan (PH) seems capable of good governance and does not seem to be serving the rakyat.
“The rakyat’s concern now is the economy. Inflation has shot through the roof, and they are more worried about three meals on the table and providing decent education for the children,” she said when contacted by New Sarawak Tribune today.
She added that the game changer for GE15 might be the Undi18 vote.
“But nobody can predict how their votes can sway the election, since we are yet to discover their level of political maturity.
“So it’s anyone’s guess how many will turn up to exercise their democratic right, and their political affiliation.
“This GE will be the most challenging one in Malaysia’s history, and I won’t be surprised if there will be many surprises,” she told.
Meanwhile commenting on the same issue, Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan said that many voters who are overseas would not be able to come back to vote because they could not get leave.
“People are also worried more about flood and loss of property, not elections.
“They have no confidence to determine who to vote because to them there is no party that is credible enough to manage the county.
“BN is seen as carrying lots of garbage while PH squandered with the chance to govern well,” he said.
Therefore, he said that the voter turnout would be low as people have lost interest in the democratic process due to abuse of the system to save certain people from prosecution.
“And the hope is to vote for the third force,” he added.
