The legislative elections held this Sunday in Malaysia point to a political deadlock in which no party will be able to form a government, according to partial official results that have already been released.
None of the three coalitions that contested the elections has won a majority: neither the coalition led by the current prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob; nor the one led by Anwar Ibrahim; nor the one led by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, reports Bloomberg.
Awnar’s coalition, Pakatan Harapan, is the best performer, with 71 seats out of 222 seats, far short of the 111 needed for a majority. There are still 34 seats to be awarded, making it mathematically impossible to reach that figure.
These results point to an extension of the political crisis that has generated three changes of government in four years.
The party with the most votes will have the option of trying to form a government, although the parties will be able to negotiate the support of other formations, as has happened in the two previous governments.
If a government cannot be formed, the King of Malaysia, Abdullah of Pahang, will entrust the formation of the government to the leader he believes has the most parliamentary support.
These elections have been brought forward almost a year after the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) opted for an early call to take advantage of the good results at the municipal level and what they considered a divided opposition.
