PUTRAJAYA / MALAYSIA: Malaysia Officials said Thursday they will go to the polls on November 19, after the prime minister called for a snap election to restore political stability.
Prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved parliament earlier this month and called for a vote a year ahead of time to maintain her slim majority in the 222-member legislature.
“The election day is November 19,” Election Commission Chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said at a news conference.
The date of nomination of candidates will be on November 5, with the 97-year-old former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is among those expected to join the fight.
By Ismail OH NOThe dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition will face the polls with fierce rival Pakatan Harapan coalition led by veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Others in the conflict included a range of Malay-based parties, including Pejuang was led by Mahathir, who had said he would be ready to become prime minister for a third time.
Ismail is Malaysia’s third prime minister in four years, highlighting the political instability following the last general election in 2018.
UMNO – which has ruled the country for more than 60 years – suffered a shock defeat amid alleged massive corruption related to the state fund 1MDB.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, embroiled in a scandal involving billions of dollars allegedly stolen from the state wealth fund, has been ousted, accused of corruption and convicted after a lengthy trial. .
In August, he began serving a 12-year prison sentence for the original series of charges, though he faces dozens more that could land him in jail longer.
“This is an important election because they are electing a government that will bring Malaysia out of the pandemic and back to normal,” said James Chin, a Malaysia expert at the University of Tasmania.
UMNO, which returned to power last year due to political infighting in previous governments, hopes to win big and solidify its rule.
However, while there is a political machine, the party is still plagued by the 1MDB corruption scandal.
There are fears that if the party comes to power, Najib could be released and efforts to pursue corruption charges against other party members will stall.
Among those facing charges is UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“If UMNO wins, there are concerns that the rule of law will not be respected in Najib’s conviction,” said Bridget Welsh of the University of Nottingham Malaysia.
“Voters will effectively decide whether Najib and UMNO party chairman Zahid should be punished for the criminal charges they face.”
The 1MDB scandal has sparked investigations in the United States, Switzerland and Singapore, whose financial systems are believed to have been used to launder money, and tarnished Malaysia’s global image.
The US Department of Justice says more than $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015 by senior fund officials and their associates and spent on everything from high-end real estate to high-end real estate. Expensive art.
The rising economy and cost of living will be key electoral issues with inflation soaring and the ringgit plunging.
There are also concerns about the polls being held during the monsoon season, which often brings widespread flooding.
Prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved parliament earlier this month and called for a vote a year ahead of time to maintain her slim majority in the 222-member legislature.
“The election day is November 19,” Election Commission Chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said at a news conference.
The date of nomination of candidates will be on November 5, with the 97-year-old former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is among those expected to join the fight.
By Ismail OH NOThe dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition will face the polls with fierce rival Pakatan Harapan coalition led by veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Others in the conflict included a range of Malay-based parties, including Pejuang was led by Mahathir, who had said he would be ready to become prime minister for a third time.
Ismail is Malaysia’s third prime minister in four years, highlighting the political instability following the last general election in 2018.
UMNO – which has ruled the country for more than 60 years – suffered a shock defeat amid alleged massive corruption related to the state fund 1MDB.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, embroiled in a scandal involving billions of dollars allegedly stolen from the state wealth fund, has been ousted, accused of corruption and convicted after a lengthy trial. .
In August, he began serving a 12-year prison sentence for the original series of charges, though he faces dozens more that could land him in jail longer.
“This is an important election because they are electing a government that will bring Malaysia out of the pandemic and back to normal,” said James Chin, a Malaysia expert at the University of Tasmania.
UMNO, which returned to power last year due to political infighting in previous governments, hopes to win big and solidify its rule.
However, while there is a political machine, the party is still plagued by the 1MDB corruption scandal.
There are fears that if the party comes to power, Najib could be released and efforts to pursue corruption charges against other party members will stall.
Among those facing charges is UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“If UMNO wins, there are concerns that the rule of law will not be respected in Najib’s conviction,” said Bridget Welsh of the University of Nottingham Malaysia.
“Voters will effectively decide whether Najib and UMNO party chairman Zahid should be punished for the criminal charges they face.”
The 1MDB scandal has sparked investigations in the United States, Switzerland and Singapore, whose financial systems are believed to have been used to launder money, and tarnished Malaysia’s global image.
The US Department of Justice says more than $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015 by senior fund officials and their associates and spent on everything from high-end real estate to high-end real estate. Expensive art.
The rising economy and cost of living will be key electoral issues with inflation soaring and the ringgit plunging.
There are also concerns about the polls being held during the monsoon season, which often brings widespread flooding.
