Veteran Malaysian leader Mahathir scores shock election win

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Malaysia's veteran ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad, 92, won a historic election victory Thursday, in a political earthquake that toppled the country's scandal-plagued premier and ousted a coalition that had ruled for over six decades.

Official results showed that Mahathir's Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) had won 113 of parliament’s 222 seats, clinching the simple majority required to rule, and ending the long hold on power of the Barisan Nasional coalition, which has ruled in Malaysia since its birth as an independent country in 1957.

The thumping victory capped a dramatic political comeback for Mahathir, who previously ruled the country with an iron fist for 22 years. He came out of retirement to take on Prime Minister Najib Razak after the leader became embroiled in a massive corruption scandal. When he takes power, Mahathir will be the oldest prime minister in the world.

Mahathir Mohamad, former Malaysian prime minister and opposition candidate for Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) attends a news conference after general election, in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, May 9, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Mahathir told a news conference he expected to be sworn in as prime minister later on Thursday.

Few had expected Mahathir to prevail against a coalition that has long relied on the support of the country’s ethnic-Malay majority.

However, he joined hands with his one-time protege, the jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim, and together their alliance exploited public disenchantment over the cost of living and a multi-billion-dollar scandal that has dogged Najib since 2015.

Mahathir has promised to seek a royal pardon for Anwar if they won the election and, once Anwar is free, to step aside and let him become prime minister.

Several key roads in the heart of the capital, where violence between races has played out in the past, were blocked off by police as evidence grew that Najib’s coalition was on the back foot. The police appealed for calm and said in a statement that, for now, the situation was under control.

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters