PUTRAJAYA: More than 2 million voters in East Malaysia’s Sarawak are set to head to the ballot boxes on Dec 12 to cast their votes in the state polls, the Election Commission (EC) said on Friday (Nov 6).
Nomination day is set for Nov 28, while early voting will take place on Dec 8.
Sarawak dissolved its state legislative assembly on Oct 26, which paved the way for its 13th state election to be held within 60 days.
The EC made the announcement after a meeting earlier on Friday chaired by the commission’s chairman Ramlan Harun.
Sarawak’s polls will be the latest in a string of state elections across Malaysia over the past year – beginning with Sabah on Nov 29, 2025, followed by Johor on Jul 11 this year and Negeri Sembilan on Aug 1. Melaka will head to the polls on Nov 14.
The results in Sabah, Johor and Negeri Sembilan have marked a setback for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.
PH won only one seat out of 22 it contested in Sabah although its electoral partner, the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition, won the most seats, allowing GRS chairman Hajiji Noor to remain the state’s chief minister.
In Johor, PH ceded ground to its federal government partner Barisan Nasional (BN), which took 48 out of the 56 seats up for grabs, leaving PH with the remaining eight.
In Negeri Sembilan, BN and its electoral partner Perikatan Nasional won 25 out of 36 seats. PH won 11 seats, down from the 17 it had secured in the previous state election.
