At stake
in this election:
- Seats in the House of
Representatives: 193
|
Description
of government structure:
- Malaysia’s bicameral Parliament
is composed of a 69 member non-elected Senate (Dewan Negara) and a popularly
elected House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) with 193 seats.
|
Description
of electoral system:
- The Senate consists of 69 members, 43
of whom are appointed by the Paramount Ruler, and 26 of whom are appointed by the state
legislatures. Senate members hold three-year
terms.
- The House of Representatives consists
of 193 members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms. (The popular vote is weighted toward the Malay
population)
- The Paramount Ruler is elected by and
from the hereditary rulers of nine of the states for a five-year term.
- The Prime Minister is designated by the
King from within the House of Representatives.
|
Results of the electoral races:
- Party Bloc: Barisan Nasional (BN)
Leader: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr. MAHATHIR bin Mohamad
Seats won in last election: 162
Seats won in this election: 148
Party
Bloc: Alternative Front (Barisan Alternatif) – Including the Following Parties:
- Party:
National Justice Party
Leader: Datin Seri Dr. Wan Azizah binti Wan Ismail
Seats won in the last election: N/A
Seats won in this election: 5
- Party:
Democratic Action Party
Leader: LIM Kit Siang
Seats won in the last election: 9
Seats won in this election: 10
- Party: Pan Malaysian Islamic Party
Leader: Ustaz Seri Dato Fadzil Mohamed NOOR
Seats won in the last election: 7
Seats won in this election: 27
- Party: Bersatu
Sabah (PBS)
Leader: Dato’ Joseph Pairin Kittingan
Seats won in last election: 8
Seats won in this election: 3
|
When was the last election? Number of seats in last
election?
- Parliamentary elections last held:
April 25, 1995
|
Population
and number of registered voters:
- Population: 22,200,000 (1998)
- Number of registered voters: 9,700,000 (January 1999)
|
Of Interest:
- This is the first general election since Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad dismissed the former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim and imposed
capital controls. Anwar’s dismissal and
subsequent jailing sparked unprecedented government protests, which Mahathir claimed were
engineered by his former deputy to topple his government.
- The Barisan Nasional (BN) has dominated the
House of Representatives since Malayasian Independence from Britain in 1957.
- Anwar Ibrahim is
the galvanizing force behind the opposition that has never controlled more than one-third
the seats in the house of representatives - the necessary number to veto a constitutional
amendment.
- Anwar Ibrahim’s wife, Azizah Ismail, now
heads the National Justice Party, a member of the Alternative Front Bloc. This party’s main platform is to impose a
just and democratic administration and to end corruption and institute a rule of law in
Malaysia.
|
| SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ELECTION SYSTEMS (IFES) |
| For additional information:
IFES ElectionGuide Online |
