It must be held by 7 December 2025 at the latest, persuant to clause 21(4) of the Constitution of Sabah.[1][2][3]
This date is dependent on when the 16th Legislative Assembly first sat, which is 12 November 2020, and so the latest date on which the election could be held is 7 December 2025 (exactly 60 days after when the Assembly would be automatically dissolved)[4] All 73 seats will be up for contests, presuming no constituencies are added or removed in a redistribution.
Background
Traditionally, state elections are held simultaneously with the parliamentary election but each state can decide when to hold its election. This is because state assemblies are dissolved by their respective ruler or governor on the advice of the chief minister of the state.
With the formation of the unity government, every single party in Sabah is a part of that government. However at the state level, there are discrepancies whereby Warisan and Barisan Nasional are not a part of the coalition. Yet the present practice for the unity government would be that of a seat negotiation, or an unsigned electoral pact where no two parties would send candidates, only a single candidate would be sent from the unity government. It remains to be seen how at the state level such cooperation would play out.
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/Premier 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 73 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 Sabah, generally persist between elections, and member parties do not normally contest for the same seats.
Hajiji meanwhile, said that GRS is open to collaboration from other parties, but insists that the preference is working together with Pakatan Harapan (PH), who joined the Sabah government after BN withdrawal during the 2023 Sabah political crisis.[9]Parti Warisan Sabah (WARISAN) also were interested in cooperating with GRS for the elections, but according to its president Shafie Apdal, its invitation to discuss such collaborations were turned down by GRS several times.[10]
Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional (PN) have announced its intention to contest all 73 state seats in its first foray into the state, the move which led to Sabah Progressive Party's (SAPP) exit from PN, as announced by party leader Yong Teck Lee in December 2024, as SAPP insists that only party which has origins in Sabah are allowed to contest the election.[11] SAPP will contest the election under GRS, the local coalition which it is a component in parallel with PN since 2020. This is the first time PN contesting the election under its own banner, although its component party Sabah BERSATU have contested and won seats before, under PH (PKR) and GRS in the 2018 and 2020 state elections respectively. PAS and Gerakan also have contested in Sabah before, with Gerakan having won seats under BN banner.
On 15 December 2024, Social Democratic Harmony Party (KDM), through its President Peter Anthony also confirmed that the party would contest the election as a party, without being in a coalition and working together with other parties, targeting 43 state seats. Anthony, who is also the Melalap MLA however, announced that he would not contest the election and defend the Melalap state seat in the election, in view of the pending appeal to his court case.[12] After Peter loses his final appeal on 4 March 2025 and sentenced to jail immediately, the party moved on 7 March 2025 to appoint his daughter Priscella Peter as the acting President.[13]
On 15 January 2025, PN, through its Deputy Chairman Hamzah Zainudin launched the slogan 'Kasi Bagus Sabah' (Make Sabah Better in English) as part of its preparations for contesting the election.
↑ "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).
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