KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — [03.45am] Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has kept his Bagan Datuk seat by just 348 votes, surviving the bruising challenge of PKR’s Datuk Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin who nearly pulled off yet another giant killing feat.
[3.40am] Pakatan Harapan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim insisted his coalition, the single biggest coalition after the 15th general election, has reached an agreement with others to form the next government.
Despite not reaching the 112 needed to win the federal government on its own, a reserved-looking Anwar insisted the coalition has written commitment from other parties for a cooperation that would allow it to exceed this threshold.
Earlier, Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also held a press conference to make a conflicting claim that his coalition was poised to form the government with the help of Sabah and Sarawak parties and others that were like minded.
A fiercely contested GE15 has left PH with a plurality of 79 seats at the moment, ahead of second-placed PN’s 73.
[03.10am] Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin indicated in a press conference early this morning that his coalition was poised to form the next government despite winning just 73 seats so far, short of the 112 needed for a simple majority.
After an unexpectedly strong showing in the 15th general election, Muhyiddin said his coalition was already in talks with parties from Sabah and Sarawak, and invited like-minded parties to join in forming a “most stable” federal administration.
When asked if this would include Umno and Barisan Nasional, he only said all parties were welcome if they accepted PN’s principles, but later added “not with PH”.
[2.45am] Pakatan Harapan has won 72 seats out of the 202 already announced by the Election Commission, remaining the coalition with the most seats so far.
But Perikatan Nasional has pulled nearly level, just five seats behind.
Barisan Nasional, which had pushed for the 15th general election to be held, was a distant third with just 29 seats. Gabungan Parti Sarawak is fourth, at 22 seats.
No single coalition is near the 112 seats needed for a simple majority in Parliament.
[01.50am] Khairy Jamaluddin has officially failed his bid to win the Sungai Buloh seat from Pakatan Harapan, losing after a seemingly popular campaign.
According to the Election Commission, Khairy lost by 2,693 votes to Pakatan Harapan’s Datuk R. Ramanan.
In the Kepala Batas seat that was considered a Barisan Nasional bastion, Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican lost to Perikatan Nasional’s Siti Mastura Mohamad by 2,867 votes.
The result meant Kepala Batas was leaving BN’s hands for the first time in its history.
[01.40am] Pakatan Harapan is currently the coalition with the most seats, 56, after the results of 166 were released officially.
In second place was Perikatan Nasional that has 52 seats, well clear of Barisan Nasional who was in third with just 23 seats or just one more than the Gabungan Parti Sarawak parties.
In Sabah, Gabungan Rakyat Sarawak has six seats while other parties have four.
The results increasingly show that a government comprising two or more separate coalitions will be unavoidable.
[01.35am] Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim has received a thrashing in the Baling federal seat, losing by 29,137 votes to Perikatan Nasional’s Hassan Saad.
The result is yet another clear sign of voters’ palpable rejection of Umno in the 15th general election that the party demanded.
[01.25am] Pakatan Harapan in Johor has outperformed the coalition on the national scale, winning more than half of the state’s 26 federal seats.
The state chapter of PH is on track to win 15 federal seats in the birthplace of Umno, eclipsing the nine headed towards Barisan Nasional and two for Perikatan Nasional.
BN won convincingly during the Johor state election in March this year, which had contributed to the coalition’s confidence that it could win the 15th general election on its own.
[01.15am] Barisan Nasional has lost in all the federal seats contested in Melaka in a painful reversal of the coalition’s performance in the 2021 state election when it won a supermajority.
Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional shared the state’s six federal seats equally, taking three each.
[01.06am] Caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has successfully defended his Bera federal seat, according to the Election Commission.
He won with a majority of 16,695 votes, compared to 2,311 in 2018.
Ismail Sabri saw off the challenges of Pakatan Harapan’s Abas Awang and Perikatan Nasional’s Asmawi Harun.
[01.00am] The Election Commission announced the official results for 112 seats from the 222 in Parliament, with no single coalition near the threshold needed to win the 15th general election.
In a press conference, EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh said Perikatan Nasional (including PAS) was ahead with 35 seats while Pakatan Harapan and its allies were second in 33 seats.
Barisan Nasional, which pushed for the early general election, was fourth with 16 seats, behind Gabungan Parti Sarawak that has 17.
[12.55am] Umno Youth chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has lost his bid for the Gerik federal seat, joining the growing heap of his party’s leaders who were defeated in the 15th general election that their party demanded.
Asyraf lost to Perikatan Nasional’s Fathul Huzir Ayob while Pakatan Harapan’s Ahmad Tarmizi Mohd Jam came in third.
[12.50am] Penang Pakatan Harapan chief Chow Kon Yeow confirmed that PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar has failed to defend the Permatang Pauh seat that has been with her family since 1978.
Chow said the result also meant the coalition would fall short of its target to win 11 federal seats in the state.
[12.45am] News portal Malaysiakini has quoted DAP’s Howard Lee as saying Pakatan Harapan will not hold any press conferences on the Perak state election due to the delay in official results so far.
“We still have a few seats where the counting is still going on. Perak Harapan’s leadership would also need to have a meeting to discuss the current situation before making any announcement,” he was quoted as saying.
Barisan Nasional is the current caretaker government.
[12.40am] DAP’s Young Syefura Othman said she has won the Bentong federal seat, defeating former MCA president Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai.
Also known as Rara, Bentong was her first time contesting a federal constituency.
[12.30am] PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar is trailing in the election for the Permatang Pauh seat, which could see the seat leave her family’s hand for the first time since 1978.
The daughter of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is behind by over 6,000 votes in the constituency that she won by over 15,000 votes in 2018.
Nurul Izzah initially said she was retiring from active politics, but changed her mind after Rafizi Ramli’s comeback as PKR deputy president.
[12.23am] Pakatan Harapan's Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is set to win the Tambun federal seat from Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, based on preliminary results.
Anwar moved to the seat from Port Dickson to lead the PH campaign for Putrajaya from the vanguard.
[12.05am] Pakatan Harapan has lost its Hulu Selangor seat to Perikatan Nasional, a foreboding result that suggests the former will likely fall short of its aim of winning 112 seats needed to command a simple majority in Parliament.
According to the EC, PN’s Hasnizan Harun secured the seat with a majority of 1,562 votes over PH’s Sathia Prakash Nadarajan and two others.
[11.55pm] Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was convincingly rejected by voters in Langkawi, Kedah, not only losing the seat but even his deposit.
The Pejuang and Gerakan Tanah Air chairman came in fourth place in the contest that was won by Perikatan Nasional’s Mohd Suhaimi Bin Abdullah.
To keep their deposits, candidates must poll at least one-eighth of the total votes.
[11.45pm] Pakatan Harapan’s Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir has successfully defended Johor Baru, seeing off the challenge of BN’s Johan Ropi and PN’s Mohd Mohtaj Yacob.
[11.40pm] Perikatan Nasional leaders appear increasingly confident at their war room in the Glenmarie Hotel and Golf Resort, as the results of 15th general election increasingly support a projected vote swing towards the coalition’s favour.
Bersatu and PAS candidates appear to be winning in convincing fashion, bucking earlier predictions that the coalition would be decimated at the polls.
Conversely, the mood appeared sombre at the World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, where Barisan Nasional is hosting its results viewing.
As in 2018 when the coalition unexpectedly lost, senior leaders of the coalition have yet to arrive.
[11.30pm] Umno's Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz has lost in his electoral debut in Kuala Selangor, failing despite a charm offensive to try in the seat.
[11.25pm] Umno information chief Shahril Suffian Hamdan has lost his bid to win Alor Gajah in Melaka, losing to former Melaka chief minister Adly Zahari.
According to the unofficial vote count so far, Adly is on track to win by over 2,000 votes over Shahril.
Incumbent Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof, who won the seat on a PH ticket in 2018 before defecting, was in third place.
[11.15pm] In a sign of the growing wave against Barisan Nasional, Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has lost in his long-time seat of Gua Musang in Kelantan, according to the official count.
He was defeated by Perikatan Nasional’s Mohd Azizi Abu Naim from PAS, ending Ku Li’s unbroken run that dates back to 1986.
[11.12pm] Tan Sri Shahidan Kassim is on track to retain his Arau seat easily, despite switching to Perikatan Nasional at the last minute following his dropping by Barisan Nasional.
The former Perlis MB is in the lead by over 17,066 seats, far ahead of BN’s Rozabel Andul Rashid in second with 6,139 votes and PH's Fathin Amelina with 5,089.
[11.05pm] Umno vice president Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, one of the so-called “Top Five” in Umno, has been defeated in Padang Terap.
He was demolished in the seat by Perikatan Nasional’s Nurul Amin Hamid, who won with a majority of 10,959 votes.
[11.00pm] Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has defended his Muar seat, according to the Election Commission.
The former youth and sports minister was forced to slog for his victory, coming home with a majority of just 1,345 votes.
The majority was around a quarter of what he received in 2018.
[10.57pm] Pakatan Harapan’s Rafizi Ramli and Fahmi Fadzil have won in Lembah Pantai and Pandan, respectively, according to unofficial vote counts.
The Pandan result means Rafizi has successfully regained the seat he was forced to give up in 2018 due to an undischarged Official Secrets Act conviction from one of his exposés on the National Feedlot Centre scandal.
[10.55pm] Perikatan Nasional’s Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin has officially won her Masjid Tanah seat in Melaka, according to the Election Commission.
Her result continues a streak of victory for her coalition, which is increasingly looking to surpass Barisan Nasional in the race for Putrajaya.
[10.50pm] Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has defended his Pagoh seat convincingly, seeing off his closest challenger by 10,007 votes.
The result was indicative of a palpable swing in Malay votes towards his PN coalition, at the expense of Barisan Nasional.
[10.40pm] In Simpang Renggam, Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad edged Pakatan's Maszlee Malik with 18,312 votes.
[10.40pm] Datuk Larry Sng has remained untouchable in Julau, officially defending the seat he won as an independent in 2018.
According to the Election Commission, the PBM president won with a majority of 1,340 votes.
[10.30pm] Barisan Nasional has suffered a major defeat in Kuala Selangor where caretaker finance minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz has lost, according to internal sources.
Tengku Zafrul made his electoral debut in the seat and has invested significant effort there, but was unable to overcome the defence of incumbent Datuk Seri Dzulkfefly Ahmad.
[10.30pm] Umno’s Datuk Seri Khalid Nordin has officially won his Kota Tinggi seat.
The senior Umno leader moved to the seat this year, after three terms in Pasir Gudang.
[10.25pm] Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan has defended his Pontian seat, according to unofficial results.
He won with 23,201 votes, well clear of the PN candidate in second place, who received 17,443 votes.
[10.21pm] Perikatan Nasional has officially flipped the Labuan seat in Sabah, handing Parti Warisan another defeat in the 15th general election.
In 2018, incumbent Datuk Rozman Isli won the seat on a BN ticket, before quitting the party for Warisan.
[10.10pm] Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun has won the Port Dickson seat for Pakatan Harapan, retaining the seat Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim left to try and take Tambun.
His closest rival was BN’s P. Kamalanathan, a former Hulu Selangor MP.
[10.10pm] Pakatan Harapan has retained the Mas Gading seat in Sarawak and the Tawau seat in Sabah.
The coalition has also seized Penampang in Sabah from Warisan deputy president Datuk Darrell Leiking, according to unofficial results.
[10.10pm] Perikatan Nasional’s Datuk Radzi Jidin has pulled off a massive upset in Putrajaya, handing the incumbent Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor his only ever defeat in the seat, according to unofficial results.
Radzi will now become only the second MP that the country’s administrative capital has ever known.
[10.05pm] Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional have both won their first official seats of the 15th general election.
BN has won Beaufort in Sabah while PN was declared the winner in Saratok, Sarawak.
[10.00pm] Pakatan Harapan’s Maszlee Malik has failed to defend his Simpang Renggam seat from Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Hasni Mohammad.
Maszlee won the seat in 2018 as part of Bersatu but quit the party in the aftermath of the "Sheraton Move".
[9.55pm] DAP’s Liew Chin Tong, Teo Nie Ching, and Pang Hok Liong have won Iskandar Puteri, Kulai and Labis, respectively, according to preliminary vote counts.
The Labis result also meant that former MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek’s son, Chua Tee Yong, was again unsuccessful in his father’s former seat.
Also in Johor, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said has defended her Pengerang seat.
[9.50pm] Perikatan Nasional has taken the lead in the Perlis state seats of Pauh, Simpang Empat, Sanglang, Tambun Tulang and Guar Sanji.
Early counting results suggest the ruling Barisan Nasional is on track to lose the state for the first time in its history.
[9.45pm] Perikatan Nasional is in the lead in all eight federal seats in Terengganu, according to votes already counted so far.
Preliminary results appear to support projections that PAS is set to be the big winner of the swing in Malay votes towards the coalition.
[9.40pm] GPS has continued its winning streak, officially adding Lawas, Betong, and Batang Sadong to give it five seats in the 15th general election.
In Lawas, GPS flipped the seat of former Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian, who was part of the “Sheraton Move” in 2020.
[9.35pm] Early counting of votes has placed Pakatan Harapan in the lead in 48 seats, ahead of Perikatan Nasional in 28.
Barisan Nasional, which pressed for the 15th general election to be held, is currently third with 17.
GPS is technically above BN, with 22 seats, but the coalition is only contesting in Sarawak.
[9.20pm] MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong has successfully defended his seat in Ayer Hitam by a larger majority than in 2018.
Unofficial results have also given Pakatan Harapan Kota Kinabalu and Bandar Kuching in Sarawak, with the two being won by Chan Fong Hin and Kelvin Yii, respectively.
[9.15pm] GPS has officially won a second seat in Sarawak, adding Mukah to Igan that was also declared in its favour by the Election Commission earlier.
GPS’ Hanifah Hajar Taib polled 21,733 to his PH contender’s 6,047.
[9.10pm] DAP candidates have unofficially won in Bagan, Tanjong, and Bukit Mertajam in Penang as well as Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur.
All four were successful defences by the party, including Bagan that is the seat of DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng while Tanjong was won by his sister, Lim Hui Ying.
[9.00pm] Muda co-founder Lim Wei Jiet has overturned BN’s Wee Jeck Seng's earlier advantage in Tanjung Piai to creep ahead by 997 votes.
This gives Muda three candidates currently ahead in early counting.
[8.55pm] Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Yeo Bee Yin has alleged that the Election Commission’s presiding officers are not signing off a document known as Form 14 for a voting stream in Puchong, where she is contesting.
Earlier, PH’s Hannah Yeoh alleged that the Form 14s at Segambut were also not being signed by EC officers, meaning that the votes have not yet been officially acknowledged.
[8.52pm] PH’s Onn Abu Bakar is leading by close to 10,000 votes with over 25,000 counted in Batu Pahat.
His closest rival, PN’s Datuk Rashid Hasnon, is second with 15,662, ahead of BN’s Ishak Siraj in third with 13,202.
[8.50pm] GPS has officially won the first seat in the 15th general election, with the Election Commission declaring the Igan seat for the coalition.
The Sarawak coalition has also won the Petra Jaya seat, according to unofficial counts.
[8.50pm] Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu arrived at the Perikatan Nasional war room to roars of Hidup Tambun, after he climbed into an early lead in the federal seat he is defending against Pakatan Harapan’s Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Unofficial early counting has given Ahmad Faizal, who is also known as Peja, the lead in the contest where he is thought to be the underdog despite being the incumbent.
Peja is currently in first place with 2,622 votes with Anwar in third with just 321.
[8.35pm] Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is currently fourth with counting still underway, in a possible omen of the likely outcome for his Gerakan Tanah Air coalition.
Most polls had projected the coalition to be on track to win just one seat from the nearly 120 it contested in the 15th general election.
According to unofficial results, Dr Mahathir currently has 222 votes, behind the first-placed BN’s candidate's 1,693.
[8.20pm] Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari has already gone ahead in Gombak, where he was fielded in an attempt to regain the seat from Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.
Azmin was PKR deputy president when he left the party with a group of the party’s lawmakers to take part in the “Sheraton Move” that led to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan federal administration.
[8.10pm] Pakatan Harapan candidate for Segambut Hannah Yeoh has alleged that the Election Commission’s presiding officers stationed at the constituency are refusing to sign the necessary forms to acknowledge votes there.
In a Twitter post, Yeoh said that this was why early results for the constituency are not being updated.
The form in question is known as Form 14 — its official name in Malay being Borang 14 Penyata Pengundian Selepas Pengiraan Undi — and is an official acknowledgment of votes that were counted, with each party’s counting agents having their own Form 14s that need to be signed.
[8.05pm] Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman is already ahead in his defence of the Muar seat, but is facing strong contest in the early counting from his Perikatan Nasional challenger from PAS.
In Tanjung Karang, Muda’s Siti Rahayu Baharin or Cikgu Rahayu has also climbed into an early lead in the seat of Selangor Umno chief Tan Sri Noh Omar, who was dropped unceremoniously for the 15th general election.
Muda is in an electoral pact with Pakatan Harapan in GE15.
[8.00pm] Parti Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal is only expected to hold a press conference tomorrow to discuss his party’s next moves following the 15th general election.
An aide for the Semporna MP said Shafie was unlikely to talk to media tonight.
“We will set up a meeting with the media tomorrow,” she said, adding that the time and place will be determined later.
Shafie’s party contested all 25 federal seats in Sabah and another 27 in the peninsula.
[7.45pm] Gobind Singh Deo has surged into a strong lead in the seat of Damansara, where he is replacing Tony Pua in the DAP stronghold.
In Gobind’s former seat of Puchong, Yeo Bee Yin, who was deployed as his replacement, also has a massive advantage, collecting 8,760 of the votes in early counting while her nearest challenger has 759.
[7.30pm] Gabungan Parti Sarawak has taken clear leads in several federal seats in the state, putting it on track to win enough to be a significant factor in the outcome of the 15th general election where no single coalition is expected to win by simple majority. Early counts have placed the Sarawak bloc ahead in Puncak Borneo, Sri Aman, Sarikei, Mukah, Selangau, Kapit, Hulu Rajang, Bintulu, Baram, Limbang, and Lawas. GPS could be the decider in the race between BN, PN, and PH to form the next federal government.
[7.20pm] Unofficial early vote counts have placed Perikatan Nasional’s Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu in the lead for the Tambun parliamentary seat, with Pakatan Harapan chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in third place, behind the Barisan Nasional candidate.
Anwar moved here from Port Dickson in Negri Sembilan in an attempt to seize the seat from Ahmad Faizal, who is the Bersatu deputy president, and is favourite to win the seat.
[6.55pm] BN and PN’s candidates have taken clear leads in the seats of Seremban where the incumbent is DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke, who is currently third in the unofficial early vote count.
The two coalitions have also surged ahead in Klang, where PH fielded V. Ganabatirau instead of incumbent Charles Santiago, upsetting some voters.
[6.45pm] While no results are available yet, unofficial early counts for several seats show the closeness of the contest, with PH and BN virtually in a dead heat.
Earlier, the Election Commission reported that the voter turnout was 70 per cent at 4pm. Albeit lower than in 2018, this still represented approximately 14.7 million voters — more than the total in the 14th general election — thanks to Undi18 and automatic voter registration.
[6.30pm] Polling has closed for Malaysia’s 15th general election, the most fiercely contested in the country’s history, with three coalitions in the running to secure control of the federal government.
Attention will now shift towards the counting of the ballots that will determine which of the three — Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan, and Perikatan Nasional — will be the frontrunners to secure a plurality.
However, projections that no coalition is likely to reach the threshold of 112 seats needed for a simple majority in Parliament means a clear winner might not emerge tonight, or even early tomorrow.
