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LegislativeOpposition coalition claims victory in Malaysia
The opposition coalition, led by Anwar Ibrahim, claimed victory in the legislative elections held on Saturday in Malaysia and wants to form the next government.
Anwar Ibrahim, at the end of his press conference, Sunday November 20, 2022 in Kuala Lumpur.
AFP
Anwar Ibrahim’s opposition coalition has claimed to form the next Malaysian government, after Saturday’s legislative elections with very tight results.
According to the official results, after counting the ballots for the 219 seats in the running, Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition won 82 seats against 73 seats for that of ex-Prime Minister Muhyiddin. Yassin, the Perikatan Nasional coalition (National Alliance). However, the latter also claimed to be leading discussions to form the next government.
Analysts had warned of the risk of increased instability in this multi-ethnic country if no clear majority emerged from the ballot on which the government, stained by a corruption scandal, counted on the contrary to establish its legitimacy in this Southeast Asian countries.
‘Work with any party’
“We now have the majority to form a government,” Anwar Ibrahim told reporters at a dawn news conference after frantic negotiations overnight. Pressed on who would make an alliance with him, Anwar Ibrahim, 75, did not name a name but said their commitments had been made in writing and would be submitted to the king for approval.
“We are ready to work with any party,” Muhyiddin Yassin told reporters. In this context, the small regional parties, notably those of Sarawak and Sabah, on the island of Borneo, should be the kingmakers.
The ruling coalition Barisan Nasional, led by the Unified Malay National Organization (Umno), which was counting on this election to consolidate its power, came far behind with 30 seats. As for former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who hoped at 97 to seek a return to power, he was beaten in his stronghold on the island of Langkawi and lost his seat in Parliament.
fragmented landscape
Turnout was strong, with 70% voting two hours before the close of business, authorities said. Long queues had formed outside polling stations on Saturday, despite the risk of monsoon rains, suggesting a high turnout of the 21 million registered voters.
For four years, this parliamentary monarchy has been shaken by political turbulence and a waltz of governments which have led to three Prime Ministers succeeding each other in four years. 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.
1MDB Scandal
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 its grip on power that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved parliament and called a snap election, initially scheduled for September 2023.
But the historically dominant party is suffering from its association with the vast corruption affair 1MDB, a fund which was to contribute to the development of the country. 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.
(AFP)