Next Kedah state election

The next Kedah state election, will elect members of the 16th Kedah State Legislative Assembly. It must be held on or before 25 November 2028, pursuant to clause 53(3) of the Constitution of Kedah or unless dissolved earlier by the Sultan of Kedah on the advice of the Menteri Besar of Kedah.

All 36 seats in the Kedah State Legislative Assembly will be contested. The election will determine whether the incumbent Perikatan Nasional government under Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor retains power, or whether opposition coalitions such as Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Harapan can secure a majority.

Constituencies

Composition before dissolution GovernmentOppositionPNPH3332191221PASBERSATUGERAKANWAWASANPKRDAP

Background Previous election

The previous state election was held on 12 August 2023 following the dissolution of the 15th State Legislative Assembly. Perikatan Nasional won a two-thirds supermajority, securing 33 of 36 seats.

Electoral system 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 currently consists of 36 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 Premier. 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 Sarawak, generally persist between elections, and member parties do not normally contest for the same seats.

The voting age is currently 18. Elections are conducted by the Election Commission of Malaysia, which is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's Department. Malaysia practices automatic voter registration but does not practice compulsory voting.

Preparations Political parties Perikatan Nasional is expected to defend its governing mandate, while Barisan Nasional aims to regain influence after losing control in 2018. Pakatan Harapan may also expand its challenge in Malay-majority constituencies.

Seat negotiations among opposition parties are expected to play a major role in determining electoral competitiveness.

Departing incumbents The following members of the 15th Kedah State Legislative Assembly did not seek re-election. No.State ConstituencyDeparting MLACoalition (Party)Date confirmedFirst electedReason

Candidates Candidate announcements are expected closer to nomination day.

No.ParliamentaryconstituencyNo.State ConstituencyIncumbent MemberIncumbent Coalition(Party)Political coalitions and respective candidates and coalitionsPerikatan Nasional (PN)Pakatan Harapan (PH)Barisan Nasional (BN)OthersCandidate namePartyCandidate namePartyCandidate namePartyCandidate namePartyCandidate namePartyP004LangkawiN01Ayer HangatShamsilah SiruAMANAHUMNON02KuahAmar Pared MahamudPKRUMNOP005Jerlun N03 Kota Siputeh Mohd Ashraf Mustaqim Badrul MunirAMANAHUMNO N04 Ayer Hitam Azhar IbrahimPASPKRUMNOP006Kubang Pasu N05 Bukit Kayu Hitam Halimaton Shaadiah SaadPKRUMNO N06 Jitra Haim Hilman AbdullahPASPKRUMNOP007Padang Terap N07 Kuala Nerang Mohamad Yusoff @ Munir ZakariaPASAMANAHUMNO N08 Pedu Mohd Radzi Md AminPASPKRUMNOP008Pokok Sena N09 Bukit Lada Salim MahmoodPASAMANAHUMNO N10 Bukit Pinang Wan Romani Wan SalimPASPKRUMNO N11 Derga Muhamad Amri WahabDAPUMNOP009Alor Setar N12 Suka Menanti Dzowahir Ab GhaniPKRUMNO N13 Kota Darul Aman Teh Swee LeongPH (DAP)GERAKAN DAPMCA N14 Alor Mengkudu Muhamad Radhi Mat DinPASAMANAHUMNOP010Kuala Kedah N15 Anak Bukit Rashidi RazakPASPKRUMNO N16 Kubang Rotan Mohd Salleh SaidinAMANAHUMNO N17 Pengkalan Kundor Mardhiyyah JohariPASAMANAHUMNOP011Pendang N18 Tokai Mohd Hayati OthmanPASAMANAHUMNO N19 Sungai Tiang Abdul Razak KhamisPKRUMNOP012Jerai N20 Sungai Limau Mohd Azam Abd SamatPASAMANAHUMNO N21 Guar Chempedak Abdul Ghafar SaadPKRUMNO N22 Gurun Baddrol BakhtiarPASPKRMCAP013Sik N23 Belantek Ahmad SulaimanPASAMANAHUMNO N24 Jeneri Muhammad Sanusi Md NorPASPKRUMNOP014Merbok N25 Bukit Selambau Azizan HamzahPAS PKRMIC N26 Tanjong Dawai Hanif GhazaliPASAMANAHUMNOP015Sungai Petani N27 Pantai Merdeka Shahrir LongPASAMANAHUMNO N28 Bakar Arang Adam Loh Wei ChaiPH (PKR)GERAKAN PKRMCAN29SidamBau Wong Bau EkPH (PKR)PKRUMNOP016BalingN30BayuMohd Taufik YaacobAMANAHUMNON31KupangNajmi AhmadPASAMANAHUMNON32Kuala KetilMansor ZakariaPASPKRUMNOP017Padang SeraiN33Merbau PulasSiti Ashah GhazaliPASAMANAHUMNON34LunasKhairul Anuar RamliPKR MICP018Kulim-Bandar BaharuN35KulimWong Chia ZhenGERAKAN PKRMCAN36Bandar BaharuMohd Suffian YusoffPASAMANAHUMNO

Opinion polls Opinion polling has yet to intensify significantly ahead of the election.

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References