ABSTRACT
In the keenly contested thirteenth general election (GE13) held on 5 May 2013, the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition emerged victorious, for the thirteenth time. Thanks to the first-past-the-post electoral system used in Malaysia, it won 133 of 222 parliamentary seats at stake, although it garnered only 47.5 percent of the popular vote (down from 51.4 percent in the previous polls in 2008). The opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat (PR), which polled 50.9 percent of the popular vote (up from 47.5 percent in 2008), won only 89 of the 222 parliamentary seats. However, the PR’s performance was enough to deny the BN a two-thirds majority in parliament, for the second successive general election. As well, the PR defeated the BN again in the states of Kelantan, Penang and Selangor. It also came close to winning two other state legislative assemblies. To a large extent, the electoral results are a reflection of the outcome of the previous (twelfth) general election (GE12) held on 8 March 2008.
