Malaysia will hold a general election on
May 9, the Election Commission (EC) said on Tuesday April 10,2018, in what could be
the toughest test of the ruling-coalition's 61-year grip on power.
Embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak is under pressure to deliver an emphatic win for the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, as he struggles to appease Malaysians unhappy with rising costs and a multi-billion dollar scandal at a state fund he founded.
Mr. Najib ended months of speculation when he announced the dissolution of Parliament last Friday.
The 64-year-old Najib is expected to retain power, but analysts predict a tough fight from his old mentor and the country's most seasoned campaigner, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Mr. Mahathir, 92, transformed Malaysia into an industrial nation from a rural backwater during his iron-fisted 22-year rule until 2003. If elected, Mr. Mahathir would become the world's oldest Prime Minister.
“The EC has held a meeting and established that polls must be held within 60 days of the date of dissolution,” the commission's chairman, Mohd Hashim Abdullah, told a news conference, adding that the election date was set for May 9.
Candidates would be nominated on April 28, meaning an 11-day campaign period. That falls short of the 15 days of campaigning in the 2013 election, and the minimum three weeks of campaigning period recommended by Malaysian electoral reform group Bersih.
Embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak is under pressure to deliver an emphatic win for the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, as he struggles to appease Malaysians unhappy with rising costs and a multi-billion dollar scandal at a state fund he founded.
Mr. Najib ended months of speculation when he announced the dissolution of Parliament last Friday.
The 64-year-old Najib is expected to retain power, but analysts predict a tough fight from his old mentor and the country's most seasoned campaigner, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Mr. Mahathir, 92, transformed Malaysia into an industrial nation from a rural backwater during his iron-fisted 22-year rule until 2003. If elected, Mr. Mahathir would become the world's oldest Prime Minister.
“The EC has held a meeting and established that polls must be held within 60 days of the date of dissolution,” the commission's chairman, Mohd Hashim Abdullah, told a news conference, adding that the election date was set for May 9.
Candidates would be nominated on April 28, meaning an 11-day campaign period. That falls short of the 15 days of campaigning in the 2013 election, and the minimum three weeks of campaigning period recommended by Malaysian electoral reform group Bersih.
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