VOTING for the Malacca elections ended at 5.30pm and the counting of ballots is underway, with full results for all 28 seats expected late tonight.

The state elections were held after four assemblymen withdrew their support for chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali last month, leading to the dissolution of the legislative assembly.

There were 476,037 voters. Voter turnout at 4pm was 61% according to the Election Commission. It has been said by political observers that a low turnout could benefit the Barisan Nasional coalition. In GE14 in 2018, when Pakatan Harapan won the state, voter turnout was 84.7%.

There were a total of 217 polling stations and 1,109 voting streams in the 28 state seats.

The polls saw a total of 112 candidates from BN, Pakatan Harapan (PH), and Perikatan Nasional (PN), Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra), Parti Perikatan India Muslim Nasional (Iman) as well as independents.

BN, PH and PN are going head to head in all 28 seats. With the other parties and independents, nine seats had four-cornered fights, five seats had five candidates, and three seats had six-way contests.

The Malaysian Insight provides highlights of the results based on information released by the EC and by the political parties’ own count:

10pm: Election Commission chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh has announced BN’s official win of the Malacca polls.

He confirmed BN’s slim majority of 15 out of 28 seats at 9.40pm.

9.50pm: PH has conceded defeat in the Malacca polls.

Media reports state PH chief Adly Zahari saying this in Malacca tonight, and where he also attributed the coalition’s loss to low voter turnout.

He said a post-mortem would be conducted.

Adly, however, retained his Bukit Katil seat with a majority of just over 1,000 votes in a four-cornered fight.

The former Malacca chief minister when PH ruled the state, is likely to be the only Amanah rep in the state legislative assembly following today’s election.

9.20pm: PKR looks set to lose all the 11 seats it contested, where it is trailing BN.

Among the 11 seats PKR is set to lose are Tg Bidara, Lendu, Rembia, Machap Jaya, Asahan, Sg Udang, Kelebang, Ayer Molek, Rim and Sg Rambai.

Going into the elections, PKR had only three seats – Rembia, Machap Jaya and Kelebang – won in GE14 in 2018.

In the state polls, its allies DAP and Amanah contested eight and nine seats, respectively.

8.45pm: Among the seats it has claimed are Kuala Linggi, Tg Bidara, Merlimau, Lendu and Gadek.

Winning Lendu means its chief minister candidate Sulaiman Md Ali is on track to lead the state government again.

8.43pm: BN claims victory in 19 seats out of 28, according Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan on a Facebook live programme.

8.10pm: DAP is also leading in Gadek, where PH incumbent Saminathan Ganesan has 4,258 votes. BN’s P. Shanmugan has 1,227 and PN’s Mohd Amir Fitri Muharam, 1,448.

But in Bemban, DAP’s Malacca chief Tey Kok Kiew is trailing behind his contenders with slim margins. 

Tey currently has 1,196 votes against Koh Chin Han-BN with 1,227, while Mohd Yadzil Yaakub-PN has 1,448.

8.01pm: DAP’s unofficial results show its candidates leading in six out of the eight seats it is contesting. It also looks set to win three of them – Ayer Keroh, Kota Laksamana and Bandar Hilir.

The six seats where it is leading are: 

Ayer Keroh – Kerk Chee Yee-PH (8,647), Yong Fun Juan-BN (3,417) and Micheal Gan Peng Lam-PN (2,198). 

Kota Laksamana – Low Chee Leong-PH (11,799), Benjamin Low Chin Hong-BN (1,882), Fong Khai Ling-PN (1,123).

Bandar Hilir – Leng Chau Yen-PH (7,720), Lee Kah Sean-BN (1,120) and Clarice Chan-PN (553).

Kesidang – Allex Seah Shoo Chin-PH (4,428), Leong Hui Ying-PN (766) and Patrick Ng Chin Kae-BN (1,216).

Pengkalan Batu – Muhamad Danish Zainudin-PH (2,178), Kalsom Nordin-BN (2,044), Mohd Azrudin Md Idris-PN (1,010). 

Duyong – Damian Yeo Shen Li-PH (3,511), Mohd Noor Helmy Abdul Halem-BN (3,023) and Kamarudin Sidek-PN (1,893).

7.28pm: Overview: BN is currently in the lead in nine out of 11 seats. 

The nine seats where BN is ahead are Tg Bidara, Lendu, Rembia, Asahan, Paya Rumput, Kelebang, Ayer Molek, Rim and Sg Rambai.

Lendu is where BN’s chief minister candidate Sulaiman Md Ali is contesting.

Tg Bidara is where Malacca BN and Umno chief Ab Rauf Yusof is in a neck and neck race with PN’s Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, who stands to be the first woman chief minister if her coalition wins.

PH, meanwhile, is ahead in Machap Jaya while PN is ahead in Sg Udang.

7.20pm: In Tg Bidara (N02), heavyweights Mas Ermieyati Samsudin-PN and BN’s Ab Rauf Yusoh are neck and neck. 

Mas Ermieyati, who is PN’s chief minister candidate, has 958 votes so far to Rauf’s 973. 

Rauf is Malacca BN and Umno chief.

The third candidate, Zainal Hassan from PH, is trailing behind at 100 votes.

6.50pm: In Rembia (N06), BN’s Muhammad Jailani Khamis is in the lead with 776 votes. 

Current tally for the other candidates are: Zamri Pakiri-PH (463), Zamzuri Arifin-PN (428), K. Murali-Ind (13) and Sabarudin Kudus-Ind (11).

In Machap Jaya (N08), PH’s Law Bing Haw leads with 285 votes. 

The current tally for other candidates here are: Ngwe Hee Sem-BN (126), Tan Siong Jiul-PN (49), Abdul Aziz Osani Kasim-Iman (5), and Azlan Daud-Ind (1).

In Asahan (N10), BN’s Fairul Nizam Roslan leads with 672 votes. PH’s Idris Haron, one of the four assemblymen who caused the election, has 241 votes.

Current results for other candidates in Asahan: Dhanesh Basil-PN (186), Mohd Noor Salleh-Ind (7), Azmar Hamid-Ind (24), Mohd Akhir Ayob-Ind (12).

In Klebang (N14), BN’s Lim Ban Hong with 1,858 votes is followed closely by PH’s Gue Teck with 1,803. PN’s Bakri Jamaluddin has 1,447.

6.34pm: In Kelebang (N14), Gue Teck from PH is in the lead with 376 votes. Rivals Lim Ban Hong from BN has 310 votes and Bakri Jamaluddin from PN has 175.

6.02pm: In Ayer Keroh, BN’s Yong Fun Juan has counted 333 votes, according to PH’s unofficial results. Ayer Keroh is also being contested by Kerk Chee Yee (DAP) and Michael Gan Peng Lam (PN). 

In Bandar Hilir, BN has counted 289 votes for its candidate Lee Kah Sean. He is in a four-cornered fight with Leng Chau Yen (DAP), Clarice Chan Ming Wang (PN), and one independent, Mak Chee Kin. 

5.50pm: PH has begun uploading unofficial results on its Facebook page. The EC will only begin counting votes officially at 6pm.

PH’s tally shows former BN chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali ahead in Lendu by 185 votes, while PH’s Asri Ibrahim has 19 votes.

The total number of registered voters in Lendu is 10,561. 

In the Sg Udang seat where there is a four-cornered fight, PN’s Dr Mohd Aleef Yusoff has picked up 240 votes against BN’s Mohammad Ali Mohammad (161), PH’s Hasmorni Tamby (22) and independent Mohd Zahar (43). – November 20, 2021.