Malaysians vote in general election after years of political instability

By Anadolu Agency staff

ANKARA (AA) – Around 21 million registered voters are casting their ballots on Saturday in a general election to elect 222 representatives for the lower house of Malaysia’s parliament, local media reported.

This is the first general election since the voting age was lowered to 18 and automatic registration was put into place, daily Malay Mail reported.

There were 14.9 million eligible voters in the last general election in 2018.

The long-ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and the opposition Pakatan Harapan, or Alliance of Hope, led by Anwar Ibrahim, will once again engage in an intense political battle.

According to the daily, the Perikatan Nasional, or National Alliance, is a dark horse in the polls.

Anwar’s party won a victory in the 2018 elections that resulted in the first regime change since Malaysia's independence from Britain in 1957.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who led the Alliance of Hope campaign in the 2018 election, became the world's oldest leader at 92 after the victory. Anwar succeeded Mahathir later, but in early 2020, defections caused their government to fall apart and restored UMNO to power with a fractious new alliance.

The poll comes more than a month after Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved parliament and declared snap elections. The country's longest-serving coalition is attempting to reclaim its dominance following a stunning defeat in 2018, but political reformers are hoping for a second surprise victory.

The voting process is going smoothly across the country, with the public following the Election Commission's standard operating procedures, including the presence of Health Ministry staff to assist COVID-19 positive voters, the daily reported.

Ismail, the caretaker prime minister, is running for reelection to the rural Malay-majority parliamentary seat of Bera, which he has held since 2004 and won by a margin of about 2,300 votes in 2018, it added.

Mahathir is running against Tambun parliamentary incumbent Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission announced that voting for the Tioman state constituency in Pahang has been officially postponed due to the death of Perikatan Nasional candidate Yunus Ramli.

It said that the new date for candidate nomination is Nov. 24, with early voting beginning on Dec. 3 and polling starting on Dec. 7.

Out of the 13 states in the Asia-Pacific country, Pahang, Perlis and Perak are also holding state elections, while Sabah is holding a by-election for the state seat of Bugaya, which represents the Sabah State Legislative Assembly.