2021 Sarawak state election

The next Sarawak state election, formally the 12th Sarawak state election, will be held on or before 7 September 2021 to elect the 19th Sarawak State Legislative Assembly. All 82 seats will be up for election, presuming no constituencies are added or removed in a redistribution. As the 18th Assembly first sat on 7 June 2016, it will automatically be dissolved on 7 June 2021 if not dissolved earlier.

2021 Sarawak state election
On or before 7 September 2021
All 82 seats in the Legislative Assembly
42 seats needed for a majority
 
Leader Abang Johari Openg Chong Chieng Jen Wong Soon Koh
Party PBB DAP PSB
Alliance Gabungan Parti Sarawak Pakatan Harapan –
Leader since 13 January 2017 10 June 2013 2015
Leader's seat Satok Kota Sentosa Bawang Assan
Last election New[nb 1] 10 seats, 30.55% Did not contest
Current seats 68 6 6
Seats needed 36 36
Incumbent Chief Minister

Abang Johari Openg
GPS-PBB

Background

Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) was established in 2018 by four former Barisan Nasional component parties following the coalition's defeat in the 2018 Malaysian general election.[1] It is currently the third-largest bloc in the Dewan Rakyat and forms the government in the state of Sarawak.

The coalition was formed on 12 June 2018, consisting of the United Bumiputera Heritage Party, Sarawak People's Party, Progressive Democratic Party and Sarawak United People's Party.[2][3] The coalition focuses on the state's interests and rights based on the Malaysia Agreement. The coalition is currently part of Perikatan Nasional.

On 1 August 2020, the newly-formed political alliance Gabungan Anak Sarawak (GASAK) which includes parties of Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi), Sarawak Workers’ Party (SWP), Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB), Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S) and Sarawak Independence Alliance (SIA) announced that GASAK will contest in all 82 seats in next state election.[4] Sarawak state polls likely in November 2020, just after the national budget (which is slated in Parliament in October) and state budget to be announced first,[5] and it is expected in June that there will be at least three-cornered fights in all 82 state seats.[6]

Electoral system

Elections in Malaysia are conducted at the federal and state levels. Federal elections elect members of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of Parliament, while state elections in each of the 13 states elect members of their respective state legislative assembly. As Malaysia follows the Westminster system of government, the head of government (Prime Minister at the federal level and the Menteri Besar/Chief Ministers at the state level) is the person who commands the confidence of the majority of members in the respective legislature – this is normally the leader of the party or coalition with the majority of seats in the legislature.

The Legislative Assembly consists of 82 members, known as Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), that are elected for five-year terms. Each MLA is elected from a single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post voting system; each constituency contains approximately an equal number of voters. If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the government, with its leader becoming the Chief Minister. In the event of a hung parliament, where no single party obtains the majority of seats, the government may still form through a coalition or a confidence and supply agreement with other parties. In practice, coalitions and alliances in Malaysia, and by extension, in Sarawak, generally persist between elections, and member parties do not normally contest for the same seats.

The voting age is currently 21[7][8] although the age of majority in the country is 18.[9] While the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2019 that provided for the voting age to be lowered to 18 was enacted in July 2019,[10] that provision is not yet in force and is awaiting a proclamation by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Elections are conducted by the Election Commission of Malaysia, which is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's Department. Malaysia does not practice compulsory voting and automatic voter registration.

Notes
  1. Gabungan Parti Sarawak was a new coalition formed from several existing parties in the immediate aftermath of the 2018 federal election. The component parties (PBB, PRS, SUPP and PDP) held a collective total of 61 seats in the last election.

References
  1. Sharon Ling; Geryl Ogilvy (12 June 2018). "Sarawak BN parties pull out of coalition to form independent state-based pact". The Star. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  2. "Malaysia's Sarawak State Government leaves Barisan Nasional: Statement". Bloomberg. The Edge Markets. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  3. Lee Poh Onn (15 June 2018). "Commentary: Free from the shackles of a fallen coalition, does Sarawak parties leaving spell the end of the Barisan Nasional?". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  4. New Gasak party wants to contest in all 82 seats in next state electionThe Borneo Post, 1 August 2020
  5. Sarawak state polls likely in NovemberThe Star, 9 July 2020
  6. PKR Sarawak ‘unperturbed’ by PSB going solo in upcoming state electionsDayak Daily, 2 June 2020
  7. Nandini Balakrishnan (28 September 2016). "Here's The Fastest Way To Register As A Voter Before The Next Elections". Says.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018. Qualifications needed to register as a voter in Malaysia:
    a) A Malaysian citizen above the age of 21.
    b) A resident of an election constituency.
    c) Is not disqualified by any laws.
  8. "A Young Malaysian's Guide to the Election". Juice. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018. You are not eligible to register if you are:
    a) on the qualifying date, you are serving jail term or detained as a person of unsound mind.
    b) before the qualifying date, you have been convicted or sentenced to death or serving a jail term of more than 12 months and you're still liable on the qualifying date.
    c) found guilty under the Election Offences Act, 1954.
    d) have a foreign citizenship (Malaysian citizenship law does not permit a Malaysian to carry dual citizenship).
  9. "Age of Majority Act 1971". The Commissioner of Law Revision, Malaysia. 22 April 1971. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  10. Martin Carvalho; Hemananthani Sivanandam; Rahimy Rahim; Tarrence Tan (16 July 2019). "Dewan Rakyat passes Bill to amend Federal Constitution to lower voting age to 18". The Star. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
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