Johor polls in spotlight as reforms see youth voter influx

[superadmin]

JOHOR BAHRU: Johor will hold the first elections since the country lowered its voting age to 18 tomorrow, with 750,000 new ballots added to the state polls seen as a litmus test for a general election that could be called this year.

Political parties are fielding younger candidates, promising jobs, digital connectivity and help for businesses, in a bid to woo new voters in Johor, where reforms lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 and allowing automatic voter registration have expanded the local electorate by a third.

The polls for the state legislature will be closely watched ahead of national elections that could be called as early as July, which would be the first big test for Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), led by Umno.

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