Malaysia heads to the polls on Nov 19

Malaysians will go to the polls on Nov 19 to choose a new government in the long-anticipated 15th general election (GE15).

Nomination day has been fixed for Nov 5, giving parties two weeks to campaign before election day, with early voting to begin on Nov 15.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10, paving the way for GE15 to be held this year despite objections due to flood concerns and calls for a focus on economic recovery post Covid-19. 

He also recommended that states, except for Sabah, Sarawak, Melaka and Johor, which have not yet reached maturity, dissolve their assemblies to enable state and parliamentary elections to be held at the same time.

Only Perak, Pahang and Perlis did so, with Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, which are under PAS, as well as Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan, under Pakatan Harapan, choosing not to dissolve their assemblies.

Sabah, Melaka, Sarawak and Johor held their state elections in September 2020, November 2021, December 2021 and March 2022 respectively.

Election Commission chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said the state-level elections in Pahang, Perak, Perlis would also be held on Nov 19, with nomination likewise on Nov 5. 

The same dates will also apply for the Bugaya by-election in Semporna, Sabah.

A total of 21,173,638 registered voters will be eligible to vote in GE15.

The party or coalition that wins a simple majority - 112 seats out of 222 – will form the next government.

At a press conference to announce the election dates today, Ghani said a total of 363,515 officers would be appointed to handle the election process for GE15 and the Bugaya by-election. 

A total of 8,958 ordinary polling stations with 38,348 polling stations/channels and 578 centres for early voting will be used. 

Ghani said that taken together, GE15 and the by-election in Sabah would require an estimated allocation of RM1.01 billion.