5-7-2023 (KUALA LUMPUR) The Election Commission (EC) has announced that polling for the upcoming six state elections in Malaysia will take place on August 12, with nomination day scheduled for July 29. Early voting is set to be held on August 8.
The six states – Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Penang, Selangor, and Negeri Sembilan – did not hold their state elections concurrently with the 15th General Election (GE15) on November 19 last year. Instead, they dissolved their legislative assemblies last month.
Kelantan was the first to dissolve its assembly on June 22, while Terengganu was the last to dissolve its assembly on June 28. Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah are under the rule of the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), which is a member of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition together with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Parti Gerakan Malaysia (Gerakan).
Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and Penang are under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, which leads the current unity government. PH will be working together with former rivals Barisan Nasional (BN) in the state elections, which many observers say will be a crucial test for the unity government.
After the last general election resulted in a hung parliament, BN became part of the unity government, together with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), and Parti Warisan. PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as prime minister on November 24 last year.
More than 9.7 million people will be eligible to cast their votes during the state elections.
