FOR current updates on the Permatang Pauh by-election click the heading and simply refresh the page for the latest throughout the day. Full stories of events will follow on our front page.
6.40pm: First ballot boxes from Kg Cross Street and SMK Mengkuang have arrived at the tallying centre
6.25pm: EC secretary Datuk Kamaruzaman Mohd Noor says that 38,144 or just 65.25% of voters had cast their ballot.
6.15pm: While the EC has yet to announce the final voter turnout, BN officials say that it will come in just under 70% despite the early flurry of voters today. They also expect to see an Anwar victory but by a smaller margin than Mar 8.
5.15pm: At least 10 FRU trucks have been stationed at the tallying centre in the Tuanku Bainun Teachers Training College. Heavy police presence is unlikely to deter supporters from gathering by the thousands.
5.06pm: Votes are not tallied yet but phantom voters and police reports of violence have been. Opposition claims at least five buses of phantom voters while Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar has called this the most violent by-election in our history with 70 police reports since the Aug 16 nomination day.
5.00pm: Voting ends. As at 4pm, 37,000 or nearly 64% of votes have been cast, according to EC secretary Datuk Kamaruzaman Mohd Noor.
4.55pm: PKR vice-president R. Sivarasa says party's exit polls match Umno's estimates, giving Anwar 61% against Arif's 39%. If this scenario pans out, Anwar will only claim a majority of about 10,000 if turnout is 80%.
4.00pm: In the final hour, voters are still appearing. The rain has stopped. Chinese voter turnout said to be high.
3.35pm: The road to Pekan Permatang Pauh is still completely congested even though rain has stopped. Motorcyclists draped in PKR flags can be seen zipping around.
3.15pm: Use motorcycles - this is PKR vice-president Azmin Ali's call to party supporters in order to beat traffic gridlock leading to polling centres. The traffic congestion has disrupted exit polling.
3.00pm: Situation in Permatang Pauh calms down with most crowds of supporters around Penanti having dispersed due to earlier downpour.
2.45pm: Umno party workers estimate that as of 11am with 36% voter turnout, Anwar leads with 61% against Arif's 39%.
1.15pm: At SK Tanah Liat, BN and Pakatan supporters are jostling shoulder-to-sho
1.10pm: Downpour has helped cool down the heated atmosphere in Permatang Pauh. A 10-minute journey from Penanti to Tanah Liat took two hours earlier but the rain has kept crowds off the streets and traffic is flowing now.
1.00pm: The National Institute for Electoral Integrity executive director Amin Iskandar says the election watchdog is unhappy with the high police presence in Chinese-majority areas compared with Malay areas. Heavy rain across the constitutency at the moment.12.00pm: About 48% of voters have cast their ballots.
11.40am: The access road to Tanah Liat is completely jammed. Crowds of Anwar supporters wearing Anwar face masks everywhere, including the women, creating a surreal scene.
11.35am: Pas vice-president Datuk Husam Musa makes an appearance at SK Permatang Pauh and says he is happy with today’s high turnout.
11.20am: EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Omar estimates that more than 40% of the electorate have voted. He expects a turnout of more than 80%. At Sekolah Kebangsaan Permatang Pauh, 47% out of 1,759 voters have turned up.
11.10am: Voters continue to stream into the polling centres with FRU deployed at no fewer than three different centres. FRU presence has been spotted on Jalan Semilang and at SK Seri Penanti, where they have dispersed the crowd although about 300 are still milling about.
10.30am: A scuffle between a man in a PKR T-shirt and police results in his arrest at SK Seri Penanti. He had apparently stepped beyond boundaries set by the police to ensure safety.
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