How elections work
Government, parties and elections
When are elections held?
In Malaysia, elections are held around once ever 5 years. Elections are called when the Prime Minister advises the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament. Elections must be held within 2 months after this date.
What electoral system is used?
We use the First-Past-the-Post system, so within each constituency, whichever candidate wins the largest percentage of votes wins the seat, even if they win less than 50%.
For this reason, parties generally dislike being in situations where there are more than 2 candidates.
Whom are you voting for?
Voters like you are sorted into constituencies by your home address, and all voters within a constituency elect a Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the Dewan Rakyat (Lower House).
Usually, all the Peninsula states (and sometimes Sabah and Sarawak) choose to dissolve their state parliaments at the same time. In these cases, voters will also choose an Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) to represent them in the State Legislative Assembly.
Who runs the elctions?
Elections are run by the Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (Election Commission). They are responsible for
- deciding the boundaries of each constituency
- organising elections in each constituency
- counting and announcing the votes
