Melaka voters will elect 28 state assembly members on Nov. 14, with Barisan Nasional (BN) seeking to defend its 21-seat win from 2021 in a race shaped by a changed alliance map.
BN captured 21 seats in the 2021 vote. Pakatan Harapan (PH) took five and Perikatan Nasional (PN) two. The Straits Times reported that BN and PN had agreed to run in separate constituencies under a seat-sharing arrangement. It said BN and PH would compete in seven seats. The report counted six races with four candidates, 11 with three candidates and 11 one-on-one contests.
Ramlan Harun, chairman of the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC), said Oct. 31 that the commission accepted each nomination and disqualified no candidate. The EC's final list shows 24 PH candidates, 23 from BN, 16 from Parti Bersama Malaysia, seven from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), five from PN and one from Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (PUTRA). Three independents bring the field to 79.
The Straits Times reported that the Tanjung Bidara ballot pairs Melaka Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh of BN with PH candidate Mohd Yunazri Mustamiri. In 2021, Ab Rauf's majority over Bersatu's Mas Ermieyati Samsudin was 364 votes, the newspaper said.
UMNO Youth chief Akmal Saleh is again contesting Merlimau, with PH candidate Ayu Hamzah, according to the report. Akmal won the seat in 2021 by a majority of 3,248 votes in a three-candidate contest.
Former Melaka chief minister Adly Zahari of Amanah is defending Bukit Katil against PAS candidate Muhammad Ridzuan Mohd Sarif, Parti Bersama Malaysia's Aliza Che Amran and independent Abu Bakar Sabudin, The Straits Times reported. PH and Bersatu are also running against each other in three constituencies, as detailed in the three PH-Bersatu contests in Melaka.
The EC said 14 of the 79 candidates are women. Most are between 40 and 49 years old, and the age range is 24 to 66. The commission put the eligible electorate at 687,697. Early voting is scheduled for Nov. 10, followed by polling on Nov. 14.
