Kota Kinabalu: A total of 1,784,843 registered voters in Sabah will be eligible to cast their ballots in the 17th State Election (PRN17) come Nov. 29.
Nomination day has been set for Nov. 15, while early voting would take place on Nov. 25. Conducting the election is expected to cost about RM116.8 million.
Of the eligible number, 1,760,417 are ordinary voters, 11,697 military personnel and spouses, while 12,729 are police personnel and spouses from the General Operations Force (PGA).
Election Commission (EC) Chairman Dato’ Sri Ramlan Harun said the Electoral Roll (DPPR) to be used is the updated register as of August 2025, revised up to Oct. 5, 2025.
The electoral roll would be on sale Nov. 1.
Ramlan said the decision was made following a special meeting held Thursday, after the official notification of the dissolution of the 16th Sabah State Assembly on Oct. 6.
“The meeting decided that the election shall be held to fill the 73 State Assembly,” he told a press conference after the special meeting at Federal Government Administration Complex, Thursday. The official campaign period would run for 14 days from after the nomination on Nov. 15 and ending at 11.59pm on Nov. 28.
Ramlan also said applications for postal voting are now open for all categories effective Oct. 13, with the following closing dates: Category 1A (election workers, EC officers, police, armed forces personnel, media staff): Nov 12 November (Wednesday) Category 1B (Malaysians abroad): 21 October (Tuesday) Category 1C (agencies or organisations): 21 October (Tuesday)All applications must be submitted online via the EC’s official portal at www.spr.gov.my.
To ensure smooth management of the polls, EC has appointed 25 Returning Officers and 196 Assistant Returning Officers.
A total of 86 Election Campaign Enforcement Teams (PP-KPR) would also be formed, comprising representatives from the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), local authorities (PBT) and candidate representatives.
There would be 25 nomination centres and official vote tallying centres (PPRU), with 33,002 election personnel deployed throughout the State.
In total, there will be 882 regular polling centres with 3,558 polling streams and 58 early voting centres with 87 streams – bringing the overall number to 940 polling centres and 3,645 polling streams.
Voters can check their polling details – including polling centres, streams and voter numbers – via the EC portal https://mysprsemak.spr.gov.my, the MySPR Semak app, or by calling the EC Hotline (03-8892 7018) from Nov 1. The hotline will operate daily from 8am to 8pm.
He also encouraged aspiring candidates to fill in and verify their nomination papers early with the respective Returning Officer’s office or State Election Office prior to nomination day and to pay their deposits in advance to avoid delays.
“Completed and verified nomination papers must be submitted by the candidate, proposer or seconder at the designated nomination centre on nomination day,” said Ramlan.
The EC is also inviting government agencies, NGOs and relevant organisations interested in observing the State Election process — from nomination day until results are announced — to apply via the EC portal between Oct 9 and 27.
Approved observers would monitor activities at nomination centres, polling stations, counting stations and tallying centres, subject to EC terms and conditions.
As in previous elections, the EC would also provide live-stream coverage of selected polling stations and counting processes on its official Facebook page.
To encourage voter participation, Ramlan said the EC would roll out a “Let’s Vote” campaign across electronic media, social media, public announcements and strategic outdoor banners at key public areas Statewide.