2026 Melaka State Election: Zahid thanks voters for BN-PN’s decisive 24-seat win

MELAKA, Nov 14 — [9.25pm] Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has thanked Melaka voters for the mandate given to his coalition and Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the state election, in a statement issued on behalf of both parties.

The thanks follow an unofficial claim of a sweeping win by the BN-PN side, with BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki saying the two have won 24 of the 28 state seats, a clear supermajority in the state assembly.

If the claim holds, BN and PN together have taken all but four seats, which would leave Pakatan Harapan (PH) with just four, consistent with the seat-by-seat figures reported earlier, which showed PH holding only its urban seats of Kesidang, Ayer Keroh, Kota Laksamana and Bandar Hilir.

PH has conceded the results. Amanah’s Adly Zahari, a former Melaka CM, who lost his Bukit Katil seat to PN, said the coalition accepts the results and will focus on strengthening its efforts going forward. 

The result will be read as a setback for PH, after DAP left the state government in July and the coalition went into the election as a rival to BN.

BN and PN are expected to work together in Melaka, but how formal that cooperation will be has not yet been spelled out. The figures remain unofficial until the Election Commission confirms the final results.

[8.45pm] Barisan Nasional (BN) has won the Melaka state election, with unofficial results as of about 8.35pm showing it past the 15 seats needed to form the government on its own.

Of the 24 seats declared so far, BN has taken 19, Pakatan Harapan (PH) four and Perikatan Nasional (PN) one. Four seats were still outstanding at that point: Bukit Katil, Paya Rumput, Kelebang and Ayer Molek.

BN’s results are decisive. Its biggest majorities came in Serkam (11,742 votes), Sungai Udang (12,036) and Telok Mas (10,903). It also captured Sungai Udang from PN, which held the seat in 2021, and kept Machap Jaya by 1,925 votes against PH’s Ginie Lim, after PH had led there at 7.19pm. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh retained Tanjung Bidara with an unofficial majority of 8,650 votes, compared with just 364 in 2021.

PH’s results were concentrated in urban seats. It held Kesidang, Ayer Keroh, Kota Laksamana and Bandar Hilir, all by margins of over 5,000 votes, so MCA did not take the DAP seats it had said it was targeting.

PH’s worst result so far is in Bukit Katil, where PN’s Ridzuan Sarif leads Amanah’s Adly Zahari, who won the seat in 2021, by 3,224 votes. PN has also held Bemban and is claiming Paya Rumput, where BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki’s has announced a PN win over PH’s Azman Abidin, the pime minister’s political secretary.

The new party Parti Bersama Malaysia, which contested 16 seats, has not won any of the 24 declared so far, and neither has Bersatu. Bersama’s candidates have been well behind in each seat where they stood, which suggests the new party has not yet become a major factor in the vote.

If Asyraf’s declarations for Ayer Molek, Kelebang and Paya Rumput hold, BN would finish on 21 seats, matching its 2021 result, with PH on four and PN on three.

[8.30pm] The Election Commission has announced unofficial BN wins in Serkam, Ayer Limau, Merlimau, Tanjung Bidara, Rim and Ayer Molek, and a PH win in Bandar Hilir.

BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has also declared BN wins in Ayer Molek and Kelebang, and a PN win in Paya Rumput. Those are party announcements, not yet confirmed by the EC.

Major develoments include caretaker Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh retaining Tanjung Bidara with an unofficial majority of 8,650 votes, up from just 364 in 2021.

BN has so far claimed 17 seats: the 12 in the earlier list plus Rembia, Kuala Linggi, Gadek, Ayer Molek and Kelebang. PN has Paya Rumput, and PH has Bandar Hilir.

BN’s seats already allow it to form the state government by simple majority.

[8.05pm] Barisan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said BN-PN has won 15 seats, the simple majority needed to form the Melaka government.

BN itself has declared unofficial wins in 14 seats. The two coalitions are also on track for a supermajority.

[7.50pm] Barisan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Asyraf Wajdi has announced unofficial BN wins in Taboh Naning, Sungai Udang, Lendu and Tanjung Bidara, which is Chief Minister Ab Rauf’s seat.

These are BN’s own claims and have not been confirmed by the Election Commission.

[7.30pm] With all 28 seats having partial counts, BN leads in 17, PH in 7, PN in 3 and Bersatu in 1. A minimum of 15 is needed for a majority. Bersama is not leading anywhere, putting it on track for another duck.

Close contests are forming in Machap Jaya, where PH has overtaken BN by 419 votes and Kuala Linggi (by 257), both seats where BN led in the earlier counts. PN leads PH in Paya Rumput by 172, and Bersatu’s Dr Asmah Samat leads BN’s Tuminah Kadi in Pantai Kundor by only 27.

Caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusof leads comfortably in Tanjung Bidara (2,510 votes to PH’s 335 from 2,845 counted). DAP-held Kota Laksamana and Bandar Hilir have PH well ahead of MCA, by 5,002 and 2,666 votes respectively.

[7.15pm] BN is ahead in 13 of the 20 seats reporting so far, PH leads in five and PN in two, and Bersama is not leading in any of them.

PH leads in DAP’s strongholds of Kota Laksamana (1,459 votes to BN’s 356) and Bandar Hilir (849 to 154), with no sign of the MCA gains it was aiming for. Both are early counts, so margins could change.

[6.00pm] Melaka voters cast their ballots today to elect a new state legislative assembly, in a high-stakes election that serves as a critical test of Barisan Nasional's (BN) traditional fortress and the increasingly strained federal partnership between it and Pakatan Harapan (PH).

A total of 675,166 eligible ordinary electors were registered to vote across 240 polling stations statewide, which operated from 8.00am to 6.00pm.

Turnout at 5pm had reached the 70 per cent target set by the Election Commission, which indicated that it expects initial ballot returns to arrive by around 9.30pm, with a comprehensive final tally anticipated before midnight.

The battle for the 28-seat state legislature drew a crowded field of 79 candidates. PH mounted the widest campaign by fielding 24 contenders, closely followed by BN with 23 candidates.

Newly formed outfit Parti Bersama Malaysia launched bids across 16 constituencies, while Bersatu and the Perikatan Nasional coalition contested seven and five seats respectively.

The Melaka showdown follows previous state polls in Johor and Negeri Sembilan where BN asserted its dominance, highlighting an awkward political reality where the two dominant coalitions clash as fierce rivals in state contests despite sharing power at the federal level in Putrajaya.

Political analysts view the election as a crucial bellwether for how the fragile BN-PH pact will hold up heading into the next general election.

The ballot box outcome will also provide the first tangible measure of public sentiment regarding the controversial transfer of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to house arrest. The court-sanctioned home detention order was executed just days before polling, dominating campaign rhetoric across the state and overshadowing localised municipal issues.