Leader of Malaysia's opposition alliance Mahathir Mohamad (Source: xinhua/VNA) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Election Commission of Malaysia on May 10 announced the official results of the country’s general election one day ago affirming the unexpected victory of the opposition alliance led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
The results showed that Mahathir's Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) won 113 of parliament's 222 seats, exceeding the simple majority required to rule.
Meanwhile, the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) headed by Prime Minister Najib Razak won only 79 seats.
With this result, the opposition alliance is eligible to form a new government with Mahathir to be sworn in as the new Prime Minister. At the age of 92, Mahathir will become the oldest elected leader in the world.
Mahathir declared victory at a meeting in Petaling Jaya city and said he plans to be sworn in as the country’s Government leader on May 10.
He also disclosed that he plans to appoint Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, President of the People’s Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat -PKR), as Deputy Prime Minister, making her the first female Deputy PM of Malaysia.
However, Malaysia’s private TV channel TV3 reported that the Malaysian Royal Family had announced the swearing-in ceremony would be moved to another day.
Malaysian media is seeking to contact PH leaders, including Mahathir, for an accurate answer.
Mahathir served as Malaysian Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003.
In his first appearance on May 10 since his party's shock loss, Najib said that because no single party has got a simple majority, the King will determine who the next Prime Minister will be.
"According to the Constitution, it will be based on who has the confidence of the majority in the Dewan Rakyat," he told a press conference on Thursday morning (May 10).
"We trust the wisdom of the King to make the best choice," he was quoted by the Straitimes newspaper as saying.
Najib also said he accepted the verdict of the people and that the Barisan Nasional is committed to respecting the principles of parliamentary democracy.-VNA
VNA
