Polling stations would close at 5.30pm instead of 5pm.
The decision was welcomed by Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah, who said she was disappointed that extra time had similarly not been provided in the hotly-contested general election on May 9.
Besides the extra half-hour, Election Commission deputy chairman Othman Mahmood also said two more voter channels would be opened for those over 60 years old to reduce waiting time and 21 new voter channels would opened at polling stations with large electorates.
Chin said the Election Commission should have shown flexibility towards voters, who had already entered the compound of polling stations before the 5pm deadline.
Many people had not been allowed to vote on May 9 even though they were within the premises of the polling stations, said Chin, who was the former head of the Bersih electoral reform group.
She hoped that the Election Commission had cleaned up the electoral roll for the Sungai Kandis by-election to remove suspicious entries, such as voters no longer residing in the constituency or large numbers of voters registered at the same address.
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