GEORGE TOWN: Perikatan Nasional candidate for the Paya Terubong state seat, Andrew Ooi, has lodged two police reports over unsealed ballot boxes.
The report was lodged at the Jalan Patani police station within the northeast district police headquarters here this afternoon.
He said the incident happened at two separate voting stations — Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Seri Relau and Dewan Blok 4E in Farlim — here.
"I went to SK Seri Relau about 11.30am today and found a ballot box in stream 15 was unsealed. It was also not tied with a cable tie. There is also no sticker on the ballot box.
"I asked the Election Commission (EC) workers to stop the voting at the stream, and after that, the voting station head took a cable tie and sticker and put them on the ballot box," he said after lodging the report.
It is learnt that about 177 ballot papers were already cast into the box when Ooi made the discovery.
There are a total of 719 voters in the stream.
Elaborating, Ooi said he went to another voting station in Farlim about 1.50pm and found the same issue.
"When I asked the EC workers, they said they forgot to seal the ballot box.
"If this happens at one location, there is a possibility that it could happen in other locations too. I found this at two locations.
Ooi demanded the EC to hold a re-election for the state seat following the incident, saying it was unfair to the candidates contesting.
"I questioned the EC's credibility following this incident," he said.
Meanwhile, state EC director Dr Siti Nazariah Abd Halim said the EC would issue an official statement.