2 yıl önce

Malaysia to head to polls in November

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved Parliament on October 10 for early polls, ignoring protests from his government's allies and the opposition for holding a vote in the monsoon season.

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Analysts say new coalitions may be likely after the November 19 polls.

Malaysia will head to the polls on November 19, officials have said, after the prime minister called for a snap election to restore political stability.

The "election date is November 19", Election Commission chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said at a press conference on Thursday.

Nomination day for candidates will be on November 5, with 97-year-old former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad among those expected to join the fray.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved parliament earlier this month and called for the vote a year ahead of schedule to shore up his slim majority in the 222-member legislature.

Ismail's UMNO, the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, will contest the polls head-on with its rival Pakatan Harapan alliance led by Anwar Ibrahim.

Others in the fray include a host of Malay-based parties, including Pejuang which is led by Mahathir, who has said he will be available to become prime minister for the third time.

Ismail is the third prime minister Malaysia has had in four years, underscoring the political instability that followed the last general elections in 2018.

UMNO – which ruled the country for over 60 years – had suffered a shock defeat amid allegations of corruption linked to state fund 1MDB.

Will Najib be freed?

Then-prime minister Najib Razak, embroiled in the scandal was ousted, charged with corruption and convicted after a lengthy trial.

In August, he started serving a 12-year jail sentence for the initial batch of charges, although he faces dozens more that could keep him in prison longer.

"This is a crucial election because they are electing a government that will bring Malaysia out of the pandemic and back to normality," said James Chin, a Malaysia expert at the University of Tasmania.

UMNO, which returned to power last year due to political infighting in the previous governments, expects to win big and cement its rule.

But while it has the political machinery, the party remains tainted by the 1MDB corruption scandal.

There are fears that if the party comes to power, Najib could be freed and efforts to pursue corruption charges against other party members will slacken.

Among those facing charges is UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

"If UMNO wins, there are concerns that the rule of law will not be honoured in Najib's conviction," Bridget Welsh of the University of Nottingham Malaysia said.

"Voters will be deciding effectively whether Najib and UMNO party president Zahid will not face punishment for the criminal charges they face."

SOURCE: AFP