More than 42% voted until midday in Malaysian state of Johor's regional election

More than 42% of registered voters, or around 1.13 million people, had cast their ballots in Malaysia's Johor state election as of 1 pm local time (0500GMT) on Saturday, according to state-run news agency Bernama.

Polling will continue until 6 pm (1000GMT), with vote counting beginning afterward and results expected later in the evening.

A total of 172 candidates are running for 56 seats in the 16th Johor State Legislative Assembly.

Along with the upcoming Negeri Sembilan election in August, the Johor vote is viewed as a litmus test for whether the ruling federal Madani coalition can maintain public support ahead of Malaysia's next general election.