MELAKA: Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional have won Melaka with a two-thirds majority, taking 24 of the 28 state seats under their Muafakat Melaka pact.
Following this successful election outcome, Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh is expected to be sworn in as Melaka Chief Minister today.
The swearing-in is scheduled to take place at 11am at Istana Melaka before the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Ali Rustam.
The Election Commission (EC)announced the full official results of the Melaka election at 11.18pm.
Barisan won 21 of the 23 seats it contested, the same number it won in 2021, while Perikatan took three of its five.
The two coalitions had aimed for 25 seats.
Pakatan Harapan won four seats, against five it won in 2021. It had set out to win 18.
Bersatu, Parti Bersama Malaysia and the three Independents did not win any seat.
Voter turnout was 70.59% when polling closed at 6pm, according to the EC’s real-time voter turnout monitoring dashboard, above its 70% target and the 65.85% recorded in 2021.
Barisan’s 21 seats are a two-thirds majority on its own. They are not the same seats as in 2021; it left Paya Rumput to Perikatan under the pact and won in Sungai Udang.
Perikatan won Paya Rumput, where Rafie Ahmad beat Pakatan Harapan’s Datuk Azman Abidin, the Prime Minister’s political secretary, by a 7,185-vote majority, and Bemban, where incumbent Dr Mohd Yadzil Yaakub retained the seat by a 7,741-vote majority.
In Bukit Katil, where Barisan backed a Perikatan candidate, former chief minister Datuk Seri Adly Zahari lost to Muhammad Ridzuan Mohd Sarif by a 6,607-vote majority.
Universiti Malaya socio-political analyst Prof Datuk Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said the pact had been held up as an electoral arrangement but had not added much to Barisan’s position.
“This would validate the Barisan-Perikatan pact as a workable electoral partnership, although it would also suggest that cooperation has not significantly expanded Barisan’s electoral dominance,” he said.
He described Bukit Katil as the crucial test, saying a PAS victory there “would demonstrate successful grassroots vote transfer” from Umno.
Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Prof Dr Azmi Hassan said the transfer of votes seen in the Negri Sembilan election had been repeated in Melaka.
“The transfer of votes from PAS supporters to Barisan Nasional candidates and vice versa did happen,” he said.
On Bukit Katil, he said Adly’s defeat in Bukit Katil showed that Barisan voters had backed the PAS candidate.
Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi described the Melaka polls result as a hat-trick following Barisan’s victories in Negri Sembilan and Johor.
However, Ahmad Zahid said this was no reason to gloat.
“We accept it with gratitude and humility.
“We are aware that this mandate carries a big responsibility to fulfil every manifesto pledge and to give the best service to the people of Melaka, regardless of religion, race or background,” he said.
He said the state election again showed that the political understanding between Barisan and Perikatan was being accepted by the people.
“The spirit of togetherness between Barisan and Perikatan throughout this state election will continue to be strengthened to form a more stable and credible state government,” he said.
