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Electoral System
Elections in Malaysia exist at two levels: national level and state level. National level elections are those for membership in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of Parliament, while state level elections are for membership in the various State Legislative Assemblies. The head of the executive branch, the Prime Minister, is indirectly elected, as are the various local authorities after the abolition of local elections.
National Level
At the national level, voters elect the 222-member House of Representatives (Malay: Dewan Rakyat, literally "Hall of the People") of the bicameral Parliament. Members are elected from single-member constituencies drawn based on population using the first pass the post system. The party that has the majority of the House of Representatives will form the federal government.
The Constitution of Malaysia requires that a general election must be held at least once every five years. However, the Prime Minister can ask the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve the Parliament at any time before this five year period has expired. A general election should be held no later than three months after the dissolution of the Parliament.
Over the years, the predominant winner of the parliamentary election has always been the Barisan Nasional (National Front; once known as the Alliance), a coalition of fourteen parties.
State Level
At the state level, voters elect representatives to the Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Legislative Assembly). The number of representatives varies between the different states, with as many as 62 electorates in Sarawak and as little as 15 in Perlis. Members are elected from single-member constituencies drawn based on population using the first pass the post system. State assembly constituencies are usually smaller than the parliamentary constituencies. The party that forms the majority of the state assembly will form the state government.
Usually, state elections are held simultaneously with the parliamentary election but each state can decide when to hold its election. This is because state assemblies are dissolved by their respective Ruler or governor on the advice of the chief minister of the state. For example, in the 1999 general election, the state elections of the 11 states on Peninsular Malaysia were held simultaneously with the parliamentary election while the state elections of Sabah and Sarawak were held at different dates. This general election (2008), the state election of Sabah will be held simultaneously with the parliamentary election as well, but Sarawak held its state election in 2007.
The Barisan Nasional usually controls the state assemblies in every election, with the notable exception of the state of Kelantan. Kelantan has been a stronghold of the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) since 1959.
