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Malaysia to hold national elections on November 19

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M Jegathesan, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=" Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) Malaysia (Malaysia Election Commission) officers walk past the commission" s="" logo="" prior="" to="" a="" press="" conference="" in="" Oct.="" Malaysians="" will="" go="" the="" polls="" for="" general="" election="" on="" Nov.="" with="" nominations="" Fazry="" EPA="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/20/suruhanjaya-pilihan-raya-epa-10202022.jpg"/><figcaption>Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) Malaysia (Malaysia Election Commission) officers walk past the commission&#x27;s logo prior to a press conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Oct. 20, 2022. Malaysians will go to the polls for the 15th general election (GE15) on Nov. 19 with nominations on Nov. 5, 2022. <em>Fazry Ismail, EPA/EFE</em></figcaption></figure></div><p> <br/>PUTRAJAYA — Malaysia will head to the polls on Nov. 19, officials said Thursday, after the prime minister called for a snap election to restore political stability.</p><p>Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved parliament earlier this month and called for the vote a year ahead of schedule to shore up his slim majority in the 222-member legislature.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/10/10/22/malaysia-pm-calls-snap-elections">Malaysia PM calls snap elections</a></li></ul><p>The &quot;election date is November 19&quot;, Election Commission chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said at a press conference.</p><p>Nomination day for candidates will be on Nov. 5, with 97-year-old former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad among those expected to join the fray.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/10/11/22/malaysias-mahathir-to-run-in-coming-general-election">Malaysia&#x27;s 97-year-old Mahathir to run in coming general election</a></li></ul><p>Ismail&#x27;s UMNO, the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, will contest the polls head-on with its bitter rival Pakatan Harapan alliance led by veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.</p><p>Others in the fray include a host of Malay-based parties, including Pejuang which is led by Mahathir, who has said he will be available to become prime minister for the third time.</p><p>Ismail is the third prime minister Malaysia has had in 4 years, underscoring the political instability that followed the last general elections in 2018.</p><p>UMNO -- which ruled the country for over 60 years -- had suffered a shock defeat amid allegations of massive corruption linked to state fund 1MDB</p><p>Then-prime minister Najib Razak, embroiled in the scandal involving billions of dollars allegedly pilfered from the sovereign wealth fund, was ousted, charged with corruption and convicted after a lengthy trial.</p><p>In August, he started serving a 12-year jail sentence for the initial batch of charges, although he faces dozens more that could keep him in prison longer.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/08/23/22/1mdb-malaysias-extraordinary-financial-scandal">1MDB: Malaysia&#x27;s extraordinary financial scandal</a></li></ul><div><strong> WILL NAJIB BE FREED?</strong></div><p>&quot;This is a crucial election because they are electing a government that will bring Malaysia out of the pandemic and back to normality,&quot; said James Chin, a Malaysia expert at the University of Tasmania.</p><p>UMNO, which returned to power last year due to political infighting in the previous governments, expects to win big and cement its rule.</p><p>But while it has the political machinery, the party remains tainted with the 1MDB corruption scandal.</p><p>There are fears that if the party comes to power, Najib could be freed and efforts to pursue corruption charges against other party members will slacken.</p><p>Among those facing charges is UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.</p><p>&quot;If UMNO wins, there are concerns that the rule of law will not be honored in Najib&#x27;s conviction,&quot; Bridget Welsh of the University of Nottingham Malaysia said.</p><p>&quot;Voters will be deciding effectively whether Najib and UMNO party president Zahid will not face punishment for the criminal charges they face.&quot;</p><p>The 1MDB scandal triggered investigations in the United States, Switzerland and Singapore, whose financial systems were believed to have been used to launder the money, and battered Malaysia&#x27;s global image.</p><p>The US Justice Department has said more than $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015 by high-level officials at the fund and their associates and spent on everything from high-end real estate to pricey art.</p><p>The economy and the rising cost of living will be key election issues with inflation soaring and the local ringgit currency tumbling. </p><p>There are also concerns with the polls being held in the monsoon season, which usually brings widespread floods.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2299335" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Malaysia will head to the polls on Nov. 19, officials said, after the prime minister called for a snap election to restore political stability.

Malaysia to hold national elections on November 19

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Malaysia to hold national elections on November 19

M Jegathesan,

Agence France-Presse

Published Oct 20, 2022 02:03 PM PHT

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Malaysia

national elections

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Malaysia elections

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