A tidal wave of candidates opens an uncertain scenario in Saturday’s general elections in Malaysia

Stupor between the opposition and citizens for holding the elections in full monsoon floods

November 18 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Malaysia is holding general elections on Saturday between a maze of three large coalitions, dozens of parties and more than a hundred independent candidates where the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) seeks to consolidate at the polls four years of political chaos that began after his historic defeat in the 2018 vote and his elusive return to power, two years later and without an election in between, after the collapse of the coalition that threw him out.

The collapse of the so-called Alliance for Hope (Pakatan Harapan) in February 2020 gave way to a prime ministerial ball and a succession of crises between new episodes of corruption scandals and the enormous impact of the coronavirus pandemic; a downward spiral finally seized upon by UMNO, Malaysia’s quintessential historical party and the country’s great nationalist stronghold, part of the National Front (Barisan Nasional) alliance.

In less than a year and a half, Mahathir Mohamad left power in the hands of Muhyidin Yasin, who ended up resigning in August 2021 after proclaiming a controversial state of emergency earlier that year due to the pandemic that ended up paralyzing the government and the government for weeks. Parliament of the country.

The position has ended up in the hands of the vice president of UMNO, Ismail Sabri Yakub, who was ultimately the party’s and coalition’s candidate to revalidate his position despite the clashes he has had with his own formation, which has been pressing him to declare these early elections building on UMNO’s winning streak in last year’s local elections.

Ismail, according to the ‘South China Morning Post’, initially refused, considering the declaration of the elections as a very delicate process that required prior consultation with King Abdullah of Pahang, but he ended up succumbing to the party and ended up dissolving Parliament in October, knowing that Malaysia has ended up holding these elections, to the dismay of opponents and the population, in full floods due to the monsoon season.

TORRENTIAL RAINS

“If it rains, take an umbrella with you,” UMNO General Secretary Ahmad Maslan declared in September. “For me, the most important thing is that they vote,” he added in a statement condemned by opposition deputy Charles Santiago, who has spent weeks criticizing the National Electoral Commission for having been unable to present an alternative plan in the event that the polling stations end up flooded.

“Either they are deaf, or they are idiots or they are both,” he lamented in statements collected by the SCMP, while those responsible for the National Electoral Commission reiterate that, so far, there is no record of problems, according to statements to the agency Bernama news officer.

Above all, two coalitions compete against UMNO and the National Front: the National Alliance (Perikatan Nasional) of Muyidin Yasin, and the Assembly for Hope itself, which has named the great Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as its candidate. to prime minister, in elections where more than 940 candidates present themselves with 222 seats at stake (112 to win), with constituencies such as Batu, in Kuala Lumpur, the capital, where up to a dozen contenders will contest a single seat.

This, in a transformed demographic scenario in which six million young people (it must be remembered that the country decided to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 years) will cast their vote for the first time, with little or no information about their preferences.

Right now, the opposition Anwar Ibrahim and his Alliance for Hope lead, according to the Mardakan Center in a poll collected by Voice of America, the race with 26 percent of the votes, only two percentage points more than Ismail’s National Front. , which has fallen to 24 percent in voting intentions. In third place is the National Alliance of Muyidin, with 13 percent, four points more than the previous month.

The ethnic lines that previously marked the favoritism of the coalitions have been diluted in a country with a Malay and indigenous majority (the Bumiputera, 70 percent of the population) whose votes are disputed by Ismail and Muyidin, who appear with very similar programs.

If we add to this the existence of a fourth coalition, the Movimiento Patria (Gerakan Tanah Air) already a minority, led by Mahathir Mohamad — in his last opportunity to return to power at 97 — and which also includes the defense of rights of the Malays against the Chinese minority, the opposition Anwar could end up favored thanks to a more pragmatic program, focused on the economy. Everything, taking into account that there is a 31 percent undecided.

And meanwhile, NGOs like Human Rights Watch (HRW) ask that these elections represent, as far as possible, the wishes of this new and thriving youth electorate.

“Voters deserve a robust debate during this campaign on the human rights issues that affect them and their families on a daily basis,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “All parties must commit to reforms that will promote a rights-respecting Malaysia in the coming years,” she added.

In particular, parties and candidates should publicly commit to amend or repeal laws that make defamation and criticism of authorities a criminal offence, repeal all legal provisions authorizing detention without trial, and abolish the death penalty, said Human Vigilancia de los derechos.