Sabah elections: voting begins in Malaysia’s bellwether state polls
- Can Shafie Apdal’s Sabah Heritage Party (Warisan) and its allies from Pakatan Harapan repeat 2018’s triumph? Or will Perikatan Nasional win?
- The results could decide if Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin goes ahead with early national polls to try and solve his razor-thin majority in parliament
Voter turnout stood at 58 per cent at 3pm, the Election Commission said. On Friday, officials said preliminary results would be released at around 10pm.
With issues such as immigrants, territorial disputes and federal funding all being trotted out during the hustings, analysts say that voters will have a tough time picking a winner, partly because of the large number of candidates being fielded – 447 in total from 15 parties, all vying for 73 state assembly seats.
“The appearance of new faces, the return of old parties and the increase in the number of candidates and political parties will give voters a hard time. They will be confused as to whom they should vote for,” Romzi Atong, a political researcher from University Malaysia Sabah, told state broadcaster Bernama.
Shafie and his party have governed Sabah since 2018, but a slew of defections earlier this year threatened to hand the state government to Perikatan Nasional. Rather than allowing that to happen, the governor dissolved the legislative assembly, triggering snap polls.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic has made campaigning even more challenging in a state with a stark urban-rural divide and poor infrastructure.