The 14th Malaysian general election (GE14 or PRU14, acronym in Malay: Pilihan Raya Umum ke-14) will elect members of the 14th Parliament of Malaysia on 9 May 2018. The 13th Parliament of Malaysia was dissolved on 7 April 2018. It would have been automatically dissolved on 24 June 2018, five years after the first meeting of the first session of the 13th Parliament of Malaysia on 24 June 2013.

The Constitution of Malaysia requires that a general election to be held in the fifth calendar year unless it is dissolved earlier by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong due to a motion of no-confidence or at the request of the Prime Minister.

The 222 members of the House of Representatives (Malay: Dewan Rakyat) are elected from single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post voting system. Malaysia does not practice compulsory voting and automatic voter registration. The voting age is 21 although the age of majority in the country is 18. The redistricting of electoral boundaries for the entire country had been presented to and passed by the Dewan Rakyat, and subsequently gazetted on 29 March 2018 after obtaining the royal consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong ahead of the 14th general election. Elections are conducted by the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC), which is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister’s Department.

Prior to the election, concerns have been raised about the redistricting efforts, including accusations of gerrymandering. The government has been criticised for rushing through the redistricting process, and for creating disproportionately large districts in opposition strongholds, where one MP may represent as many as 10 times as many constituents as an MP in a government dominated district.

Sources and Further Reading:

Electoral Commission of Malaysia

http://www.spr.gov.my/

Sultan Ibrahim consents to dissolution of Johor state assembly

https://www.malaymail.com/s/1616767/sultan-ibrahim-gives-consent-for-dissolution-of-johor-state-assembly

Malaysia: a case study for democracy in retreat

https://www.ft.com/content/8b21e5d2-4d9a-11e8-97e4-13afc22d86d4