Malaysia will hold a snap election on November 19 as the ruling party tries to solidify its comeback after its former leader was jailed for corruption, officials announced Thursday.
In spite of opposition and support from members of his own party, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved Parliament on October 10 to hold early elections.
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Although the current session of Parliament ends in July 2023, his United Malays National Organization is at odds with members of the ruling coalition and thinks early voting will help. Based on a resurgence of support from ethnic Malays and a disorganised opposition, UMNO anticipates a strong victory on its own before an anticipated economic slowdown in 2019.
Election Commission chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said the nomination date for candidates would be Nov. 5, kicking off two weeks of official campaigning. He said 21.17 million voters will be casting their ballots.
Three states will also hold local polls on Nov. 19, he added.
Since Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957, UMNO has led the National Front coalition. However, the coalition was overthrown in the 2018 elections by a multibillion-dollar financial scandal. Najib Razak, the then-prime minister, was later sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption, and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the current president of UMNO, is currently being tried for the same crime.
Defections caused the reformist government of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to fall in less than two years, bringing UMNO back to power in a shaky coalition. Ismail, who was chosen by the king in August 2021, is the third prime minister to take office in the nation since the 2018 elections.
Analysts say new coalitions may be likely after the Nov. 19 polls.
UMNO, had less than 40 of the 222 lawmakers in the just-disbanded Parliament, and may not get the simple majority needed to govern on its own.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s Hope Alliance, which won the 2018 polls, is the main contender but votes are expected to be split with the emergence of a number of other parties. This included Mahathir’s own Malay party and the two Malay parties that were part of Ismail’s government.
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