You will no longer be able to bring your smartphone with you when you enter a polling station to cast your vote. This comes as the Election Commission has shared a new infographic which outlines the steps you will take during the voting process.
As shown in the infographic, once you head to the polling station, there will be a number of steps to take when casting your vote. This includes having to surrender your smartphone to the person in charge of the polling station, and only after that will you be able to head to the voting booth to pick your candidate of choice, before then placing your vote into the ballot box. After that you will be able to collect back your smartphone and then exit the polling station.
The topic of smartphones in the polling station had come up recently when former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad called on the EC to ban smartphones when voting. According to him, this was a flaw in the voting process in Malaysia, which can be used to show others who they had voted for. This can then be abused by some to bribe voters into voting for them. Mahathir has since posted on social media to say thanks to the EC for following his advice to prohibit smartphones when voting.
Saya ucap terima kasih kepada SPR kerana terima cadangan larang bawa telefon bimbit semasa mengundi. Ini satu cara elak parti menyogok selepas buang undi dan pertahan prinsip undi adalah rahsia.https://t.co/HXklgzNCOr https://t.co/3PJlBI46su pic.twitter.com/3AorqFOQ2G
- Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) November 10, 2022
