Malaysia’s key state elections end in status quo

ANKARA

Malaysia’s key elections in six states have ended in a status quo outcome as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government and the opposition alliance, Perikatan Nasional (PN), clinched three states each.

Both the ruling and the opposition parties retained the states they governed before the polls, local English daily Malay Mail reported, citing results announced by the country’s election commission late Saturday night.

The opposition PN retained Kelantan, Kedah, and Terengganu states, with unofficial results showing the coalition had swept to more than two-thirds of supermajorities in these states.

Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and its unity government ally Barisan Nasional (BN) have officially retained Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and Penang after about seven million votes were tallied to see which party will govern six of the federation’s 13 states.

Saturday’s vote in six states had been the toughest political challenge yet to Anwar, who, according to many, has lived up to the call by retaining the states his party previously governed.

Anwar was appointed prime minister in November last year to head a unity government after an indecisive general election.

The election of state assembly members does not affect his current two-thirds majority in parliament.

• Results
• six states
• state elections
• Status quo