Malaysia to hold general election on November 19

National polls were not due until the third quarter of 2023, but PM Ismail Sabri had been under pressure to call for early elections from his Umno party

Timing of the election has been criticised because it comes as the country braces for possible floods from the annual monsoon season

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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved parliament on October 10 to clear the way for snap elections. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:27pm, 20 Oct 2022Updated: 12:36pm, 20 Oct 2022

Malaysia’s coming general election will be held on November 19, the Election Commission said on Thursday, setting the stage for a fierce battle for power with the political landscape more splintered than ever.

Candidates have to be nominated on November 5, meaning a 14-day campaign period, three days longer than the 2018 polls.

Some 21.1 million people are eligible to vote, election commission officials said during a press conference. Those eligible for early voting will be able to do so on November 15.

Registration for postal voting will end on October 23.

The 15th national election comes four years after voters, fed-up over entrenched corruption and rising living costs, unseated Barisan Nasional, a powerful coalition led by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s United Malays National Organisation (Umno) party that had held power since Malaysia’s independence from the British in 1957.

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