Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the opposition coalition in Malaysia, was neck and neck with the Perikatan Nasional (National Alliance) group of former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, following the legislative elections on Saturday 19 November in Malaysia.
After the votes were tallied in 202 out of 219 constituencies, Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition, which campaigned on the theme of fighting corruption, had 66 seats against 67 for the Perikatan Nasional group. of Muhyiddin Yassin, according to the electoral commission. The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, led by the United Malay National Organization (Umno), was in third place.
A survey by the Merdeka Institute on the eve of the elections had given Mr. Anwar’s coalition winning 82 seats out of the 222 to be filled, 33% of voters granting him their favor for the post of Prime Minister. Only 219 seats were ultimately put to the vote as two candidates died and voting was made impossible in one constituency due to bad weather.
If neither party wins a clear majority, political instability could continue in Malaysia. Anwar Ibrahim declared himself “cautiously confident” on the fact that his coalition obtains a simple majority in Parliament. “A victory today would certainly be gratifying after more than two decades of struggling to win the hearts and minds of the people”he told Agence France Presse before voting in the state of Penang.
Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who hoped at 97 to seek a return to power, was beaten in his stronghold on the island of Langkawi and lost his seat in Parliament. Which should end his political career.
Record turnout
The election was marked by a record participation of 21 million registered voters, eager to put an end to a period of political uncertainty during which three prime ministers have succeeded each other at the head of the country in as many years, while After the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysia is facing an economic downturn and soaring inflation. It was 70% according to the authorities two hours before the close of business, at 4 p.m. (9 a.m. in Paris).
After more than sixty years in power, the historically dominant party, the Malayan Unified National Organization (Umno), was heavily sanctioned at the polls and ousted from power in 2018, marking the first alternation in the country’s history. The then Prime Minister Najib Razak, implicated in the embezzlement of several billion dollars from the sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, is currently serving a twelve-year prison sentence. Umno only returned to business with a narrow majority in 2021.
And it was in the hope of strengthening his grip on power that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved parliament and called snap elections, originally scheduled for September 2023. But the historically dominant party is suffering from its association with the vast corruption case 1MDB, a fund that was to contribute to the development of the country. However, the money was diverted to, among other things, the bank account of Najib Razak.
The scandal sparked investigations in the United States, Switzerland and Singapore, where financial institutions were allegedly used to launder billions of dollars.