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All 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat 112 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General elections must be held in Malaysia by 17 February 2028. Redistribution and boundary changes for the constituencies are expected to take place by 2026, with the last taking place before the 2018 general election.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, leader of Pakatan Harapan, currently leads a coalition government consisting of PH, BN, GPS, GRS, WARISAN and other minor parties.[1] Perikatan Nasional (PN) and the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) sit as the opposition.[2][3]
The 2022 general election saw PN make gains primarily in the northern peninsular states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu in what was dubbed as the Green Wave.[4][5][6][7][8][9] It resulted in a hung parliament for the first time in Malaysian electoral history.
Elections in Malaysia are conducted at the federal and state levels. Federal elections elect members of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of Parliament, while state elections in each of the 13 states elect members of their respective state legislative assembly. As Malaysia follows the Westminster system of government, the head of government (Prime Minister at the federal level and the Chief Ministers, the so-called Menteri Besar, at the state level) is the person who commands the confidence of the majority of members in the respective legislature – this is normally the leader of the party or coalition with the majority of seats in the legislature.
The Dewan Rakyat consists of 222 members, known as Members of Parliament (MPs), that are elected for five-year terms. Each MP is elected from a single-member constituency using the first-past-the-post voting system. If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the government, with its leader becoming the Prime Minister. In the event of a hung parliament, where no single party obtains the majority of seats, the government may still form through a coalition or a confidence and supply agreement with other parties. In practice, coalitions and alliances in Malaysia generally persist between elections, and member parties do not normally contest for the same seats.
The 14th Parliament of Malaysia was dissolved on 10 October 2022, during a special televised address by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, following an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Abdullah, a day prior, whereby he provided consent for the dissolution. The election had to be held within 60 days or by 9 December.[10]
The Constitution of Malaysia requires that a general election be held in the fifth calendar year after the first sitting unless it is dissolved earlier by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong following a motion of no confidence, loss of supply or a request by the prime minister.
While any state may dissolve its legislature independently of Parliament, most of them had historically dissolved at around the same time as Parliament such that federal and state elections are held simultaneously. In accordance with Malaysian law, Parliament as well as the legislative assemblies of each state would automatically expire on the fifth anniversary of the first sitting of a term, unless dissolved prior to that date by the relevant heads of state on the advice of their respective heads of government. Elections must be held within sixty days of expiry or dissolution.
Dates of the legislature of each state would expire and their actual dissolution dates | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Legislature
(and term number) |
Term began | Refs | Term ends
(on or before) |
Latest possible
election date |
Refs |
Sabah (16th) | 9 October 2020 | [11] | 9 October 2025 | 8 December 2025 | |
Malacca (15th) | 27 December 2021 | [12] | 27 December 2026 | 25 February 2027 | |
Sarawak (19th) | 14 February 2022 | [13] | 14 February 2027 | 15 April 2027 | |
Johor (15th) | 21 April 2022 | [14] | 21 April 2027 | 20 June 2027 | |
Perlis (15th) | 19 December 2022 | [15] | 19 December 2027 | 17 February 2028 | |
Perak (15th) | 19 December 2022 | [16] | 19 December 2027 | 17 February 2028 | |
Pahang (15th) | 29 December 2022 | [17] | 29 December 2027 | 27 February 2028 | |
Penang (15th) | 29 August 2023 | [18] | 29 August 2028 | 28 October 2028 | |
Kelantan (15th) | 5 September 2023 | [19] | 5 September 2028 | 4 November 2028 | |
Selangor (15th) | 19 September 2023 | [20] | 19 September 2023 | 18 November 2028 | |
Terengganu (15th) | 24 September 2023 | [21] | 24 September 2028 | 23 September 2028 | |
Kedah (15th) | 25 September 2023 | [22] | 25 September 2028 | 24 November 2028 | |
Negeri Sembilan (15th) | 26 September 2023 | [23] | 26 September 2028 | 25 September 2028 |