Malaysia’s Melaka election: voter turnout hits 70% target as poll closes

Voter turnout in the Melaka state election hit the target of 70 per cent of 669,211 eligible voters as polling officially closed at 6pm on Saturday, in a contest where Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition faces formidable odds against the incumbent Umno. The poll marks the third state electoral battle between PH and its federal partner Umno in four months. Two weeks of campaigning have seen PH pull out all the stops in its bid to at least deny the Umno-led Barisan...