Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has announced that parliament should be dissolved in order to pave the way for the 11th general elections. At a press conference, PM announced the King’s approval to dissolve the parliament with immediate effect to allow elections to be held. PM further added that he had advised all the states to dissolve the state assemblies with immediate effect.
PM Abdullah had indicated that he did not expect a repeat of the 2004 landslide where the Barisan Nasional coalition seized almost about 90% of the parliamentary seats. However, the polling date was yet to be decided by the Election Commission. Rumours say that it would probably be fixed for 20 or 21 March. PM Abdullah was also hopeful that he would be reelected as PM with two thirds of votes going to him.
Expect this situation to get heated up during the next 30 days with mind games being played among politicians involved. There would be war of words, war of flags. But this is exactly what makes Malaysia politically special. People are so enthusiastic about their respective beliefs.
Voting has to be take place within 60 days of dissolving parliament. According to intelligence agency reports, the 12th General Election will be the first election in Malaysian history where voters will vote based on candidates rather than parties. As much as the right candidate will be crucial in determining who gets voted in, the party the candidate represents will also have a bearing on who wins and who gets ousted. As much as that candidate could be a suitable candidate, but in the wrong constituency it would be disastrous.
Image Credit: Malaxi
