PUTRAJAYA, Nov 5 — The 15th General Election (GE15) process to form a new government of Malaysia kicked off today with the nomination of candidates at 222 nomination centres nationwide.
Also kicked off today is the by-election process for the Bugaya state seat in Sabah which could not be held earlier following the proclamation of emergency to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Election Commission has set Nov 19 for polling and Nov 15 for early voting. The campaign period is set for 14 days, starting after the announcement of candidates contesting in the polls until 11.59 pm on Nov 18.
Apart from the 222 parliamentary seats, the election for 116 state seats in Perlis, Pahang and Perak would also be held simultaneously after the state assemblies were dissolved following the dissolution of the 14th Parliament on Oct 10.
The electoral rolls to be used for GE15, the state polls and the Bugaya by-election would be the latest August 2022 Supplementary Electoral Roll as updated on Oct 9, 2022.
The opposition-led states of Penang, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor, as well as Terengganu, Kelantan and Kedah, have opted not to hold their state elections simultaneously with the GE15.
Four other states had held their state polls separately over the last two years, with Sabah having its election on Sept 26, 2020; Melaka (Nov 20, 2021); Sarawak (Dec 18, 2021) and Johor (March 12, 2022).
Before the dissolution of the Parliament, the composition of seats in the Dewan Rakyat saw Pakatan Harapan (PH) held 90 seats, followed by Barisan Nasional (BN) (43), Bersatu (28), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) (19), PAS (17), Warisan (seven), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) (six), Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) (four), Independents (three), and MUDA, Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) and STAR having one seat each.
Two seats remain vacant following the death of the incumbents, Datuk Hasbullah Osman (BN-Gerik) and Datuk Liew Vui Keong (Warisan-Batu Sapi).
