On Monday, the Malaysian Prime Minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the Parliament will be dissolved. This move has paved the way for snap elections which is a year earlier ahead of the country’s deadline for general elections.
According to sources, the announcement comes amid growing pressure from Ismail’s party United Malays National Organization, but those colleagues loyal to Umno president Zahid Hamidi. Reportedly, they want the voting to be held as early as possible since the beginning of this year.
“I had an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (paramount ruler) yesterday afternoon…He has consented to dissolving Parliament on Monday in accordance to Article 40 (2)(b) and Article 55(2) of the Federal Constitution,” said Datuk Seri Ismail.
UMNO is Malaysia’s biggest party in the ruling coalition and has been feuding with the allies and wants to win the upcoming elections alone, sources said. The dissolution was expected to happen sometime this week as the PM met with Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, at least twice last week between Thursday and Sunday, said the report.
Malaysia follows a constitutional monarchy and the monarch has absolute authority over whether they would consent to the dissolution of Parliament or not, after which voters must cast their ballots within 60 days. Therefore, an early election can be expected by early November.
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The early November date for the elections is chosen to avoid the clash with Malaysia’s end-of-the-year monsoon season which has resulted in devastating floods over the past years. On Sunday, the country’s monarch Sultan Abdullah warned citizens to “brace themselves and make preparations to face possible weather phenomena”.
According to a report by The Straits Times, UMNO leadership and the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition which it leads are set to meet on late Monday and Tuesday, which will give them a head start on preparations for the upcoming campaign trail when no other party is ready. On the other hand, UMNO’s main opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) will only be finalising their candidates and manifesto by October 29, said the report.
Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional (PN), the largest bloc in PM Ismail’s governing coalition up until last week, were lobbying the Palace to dissolve the Parliament until the monsoon passes early next year.
Notably, together the PN and PH control six state governments and have indicated that they would not follow even if the federal legislature is dissolved. Furthermore, they will hold state elections only next year, ahead of the September deadline, said the report. Therefore, only three UMNO-controlled states will have their state elections coincide with the Parliamentary elections.
(With inputs from agencies)
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