KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Millions of voters will be added to the country's election roll from Sunday following the implementation of automatic voter registration and the lowered voting age from 21 to 18.

Some 5.8 million additional voters will be able to cast their votes in future elections. Among these will be some 1.2 million voters aged between 18 and 21, said Election Commission deputy chairman Azmi Sharom, local media reported.

The automatic voter registration will enable all Malaysians over 18, except those in prison or in mental healthcare institutes, to vote without manually applying to be registered.

Commenting on the development, independent political observer Azmi Hassan told Xinhua the influx of new voters would mean political parties in the country will have to adjust their approaches to capture votes from the new youth vote bank.

"They (political parties) see this as very significant. If you look at the candidates for the recent Malacca and Sarawak state elections, not only were new candidates fielded, they were also much younger," he said.

"I think that's the plan of each political party, to give new chances to these new and young candidates when it comes to the next general elections," he said.

Azmi Hassan explained that the new voters, which would translate to at least 10,000 to 20,000 new voters in each constituency, would have a very significant impact on the national polls, which must be held by or before July 2023.

"For those over 21, who are coming in under automatic voter registration, they did not register in the first place as voters and their participation is open-ended. Will they come out to vote or not? But for those in the 18 to 21 category, they have been very vocal and could shape voting trends, especially in marginal and swing seats," he said. Enditem

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