Urliapov Vyacheslav

The results of Malaysia’s general elections

ЮГО-ВОСТОЧНАЯ АЗИЯ: АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ РАЗВИТИЯ, 2013, №21, 155-163

 
Annotation: Malaysia’s general elections held on May 5, 2013, returned the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition to power with weak mandate and the potential for political instability. According to official results, the BN won 133 of parliament’s 222 seats, down from the 140 and below its covered two-third majority. Opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) increased its parliamentary representation from 82 to 89 seats. In a significant turn, PR won over half of the popular vote. The discrepancy between the share of popular votes and actual parliamentary seats won owed to periodical gerrymandering orchestrated by the BN to favor its candidates in rural areas. Prime Minister Najjb Razak blamed the losses of BN on a “Chinese Tsunami”. He said that BN was hurt by Chinese voters going over to the opposition and warned that such polarization of votes could cause tension. Meanwhile the Prime Minister was heading for another fight – convincing warlords in his own party to keep him on as chief. His performance in the GE will be main yardstick used by UMNO leaders to decide whether to let him continue as president at the next party’s general assembly

Keywords: MALAYSIA, GENERAL ELECTIONS, BARISAN NASIONAL, PAKATAN RAKYAT