Kuala Lumpur (April 10, 2018): The Elecion Commission of Malaysia has unveiled on Tuesday that the country’s 14th general election will be held on May 9.
Nomination day for candidates will be on April 28, after which parties can begin campaigning, the EC announced on Tuesday.
“The campaign period will last 11 days,” said EC chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah.
Eleven days is the minimum campaigning period required by law.
May 9 falls on a Wednesday. This marks the first time Malaysia is holding its polls on a weekday in almost 20 years. The last time the country held polls on a weekday was in 1999.
According to Tan Sri Hashim, the EC will be using the electoral roll updated to the fourth quarter of 2017, which has 14.9 million registered voters. In the last election in 2013, Malaysia had 13.3 million registered voters, and an 85 per cent turnout at the polls.
Early voting will be held on Saturday, May 5 for over 300,000 registered early voters largely comprising army personnel, policemen and their spouses.
Moreover, the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will lead the 13-party Barisan Nasional coalition, while former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad will head the four-party Pakatan Harapan opposition pact. Mr Abdul Hadi Awang will lead some one million members that make up Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS).
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