MELAKA caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh and Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh were among political leaders who cast their ballots early as polling began in the 16th Melaka state election today.
Ab Rauf, the Barisan Nasional (BN) incumbent for Tanjung Bidara, arrived at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Jeram at about 8.30am, accompanied by his wife, Datin Seri Zuriyah Ab Aziz.
Dressed in batik, he greeted voters and posed for photographs before casting his ballot.
Ab Rauf is defending the seat against Pakatan Harapan's (PH) Mohd Yunazri Mustamiri. Tanjung Bidara has 15,003 registered voters.
Meanwhile, Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh arrived at SK Merlimau at about 8.35am with his family to cast his ballot.
He is defending the Merlimau seat against PH's Rahayu Hamzah in a straight fight.
Akmal retained the seat for BN in the 2021 state election with a majority of 3,248 votes.
Deputy Higher Education Minister and acting Melaka PKR chairman Adam Adli Abd Halim Adam Adli Abd Halim also voted at SK Dato' Demang Hussin in Bukit Katil, where he was seen displaying the indelible ink on his finger after casting his ballot.
Melaka police chief Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar visited SK Bendahara Seri Maharaja in Jalan Kandang to monitor the situation at the polling centre.
Polling began at 8am across the state's 28 constituencies and is scheduled to close at 6pm.
A total of 79 candidates are contesting the 28 seats, with 687,697 registered voters eligible to cast their ballots.
The electorate includes 12,531 military personnel and their spouses. Police personnel and their spouses cast their ballots during early voting on Tuesday. - November 14, 2026
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