- Malayan general election, 1959
-
Malaysia
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Politics and government of
Malaysia
General elections were held in Malaya on 19 August 1959,[1] the first since independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. It was the third national-wide election held in Malaya since the end of World War II. Malaya later formed Malaysia with three other states in 1963. Voter turnout was 73.3%.
In the election, the Alliance Party - later Barisan Nasional - emerged as the victor. The party was a coalition formed by United Malays National Organisation, Malayan Chinese Association and Malayan Indian Congress. The coalition won 74 out of 104 seats in the Dewan Rakyat with only 51.7% of total votes. The opposition as a whole garnered 30 seats with 48.3% of total votes.
The 71.1% majority allowed Alliance Party to form a government as sanctioned by the Constitution of Malaya.
When results were announced on the morning of 20 August, only 103 seats were returned as elections in the Kedah Tengah (English: Central Kedah) constituency was delayed until 30 September.[2] The Alliance proceeded to win this seat with Khir Johari as the winning candidate.
Results
Party Votes % Seats +/- Alliance Party 800,944 51.8 74 +23 Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party 329,070 21.3 13 +12 Malayan People's Socialist Front 199,688 12.9 8 New People's Progressive Party 97,391 6.3 4 +4 Parti Negara 32,578 2.1 1 +1 Malayan Party 13,404 0.9 1 New Independents 74,194 4.8 3 +3 Invalid/blank votes 17,306 - - Total 1,564,575 100 104 +52 Source: Nohlen et al References
- ^ Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p152 ISBN 0199249598
- ^ Arkib Negara: Pembentukan Kabinet Yang Pertama Selepas Merdeka (in Malay)
External links
- Documentary video about the 1959 elections Government of Malaysia (in Malay)
Elections in Malaysia
General elections Categories:- General elections in Malaysia
- 1959 elections in Asia
- 1959 in Malaya
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