Malaysia Elections: Tun Mahathir Next Prime Minister of Malaysia.
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Dear friends,
Unofficial results of Malaysia’s general election point to a victory of the opposition led by Tun Mahathir Mohamad.
First reports confirmed that “The opposition is gaining ground in the ruling party’s eastern stronghold of Sarawak state, and TV networks report that the heads of a Chinese party and an Indian party within the Malay-dominated ruling coalition lost their seats in regions that are also vote banks for it.” (ABC, May 9, 2018)
Tun Mahathir Mohamad stated late on Wednesday (local time) that based on unofficial tallies, the opposition coalition has won the election.
” Tun Mahathir feels his Party has won with a simple majority so far, with more results due in. However the Election Commission has requested for more time. Hope there is no foul play”
Mahathir requested that citizens remain silent for at least 12 hours until the Election Commission announces the official results. He also warned Prime Minister Najib Razak as well as election officials against taking any action to frustrate the result.
The independent news portal Malaysiakini’s unofficial count showed Najib’s Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition had gained 60 out of the country’s 222 parliament seats.Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan pact had won 73 seats, the figures showed. (SCMP, May 9, 2018)
According to Mahathir at a press conference
“We will need 112 seats and we would win. It would seem we have practically achieved that figure,”
There have been numerous reports of vote rigging and fraud:
See below
The Election Commission has demanded for more time before confirming the results of the vote.
The possibility of political foul play by the outgoing (corrupt) Prime Minister Najib Razak cannot be excluded.
Najib is fully aware that his defeat could lead to a criminal indictment on charges of financial fraud and corruption.
At 3.40 am Tun Mahathir confirmed that a new Malaysian government would not be seeking revenge against Najib who was involved in the 1MDB financial scandal.
U.S. investigators say at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund by associates of Najib between 2009 and 2014, including $700 million that landed in Najib’s bank account. (ABC News, May 9, 2018)
Mahathir nonetheless confirmed that he will restore the rule of law. Inevitably, what that means is that even if the initiative is not taken explicitly by the new government, the rule of law will prevail and Najib will be be indicted.
And he knows it. The question is whether he will in a way to block or manipulate the elections results.
The night is not over.
Malaysia is waiting in limbo for the publication of the official results by the Election Commission.