Government and Politics/ Contents

The democratic electoral system

Omar Mohd Hashim

The broad principles underlying elections in Malaysia are similar to those of Britain's simple-majority system. Each elected government is given a five-year mandate. An independent Election Commission is responsible for the conduct of parliamentary and state elections, for defining electoral boundaries and maintaining electoral rolls.

  • Information in the full article includes
  • Political tutelage up to Merdeka
  • The electoral system
  • ‘First past the post’
  • The electoral rolls
  • Delimitation of constituencies
  • The result of power sharing
  • Contesting election results
Election

Malayans queuing up to vote in the first federal election, 1955.