The 2026 Negeri Sembilan state election took place on 1 August 2026 to elect members of the 16th Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly.
The Legislative Assembly was dissolved by incumbent Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun on 4 June 2026, signed by the Yang di-Pertuan Besar, Tuanku Muhriz, after a breakdown of the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional governing coalition caused by BN's disagreements with Aminuddin's response to an ongoing constitutional crisis over Tuanku Muhriz's status as the ruler of the state.
Barisan Nasional (BN) entered into an informal election pact with Perikatan Nasional (PN), defeating the governing Pakatan Harapan (PH) which had been leading the state government since the 2018 election, with the BN-PN alliance securing a landslide victory with a two-thirds majority.
PH faced huge losses with notable defeats of two of its high-ranking leaders: incumbent Menteri Besar Aminuddin left his seat of Sikamat to contest the BN-held seat of Linggi and was defeated, while Secretary-General of PH's component party, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and federal Transport Minister Anthony Loke lost his seat of Chennah to BN's component party, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) in what was described as an upset thus return of MCAparty to state assembly for 13 years hiccups. Meanwhile, the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), which decided to contest solo following long-standing tensions with the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and faced defections of its members to the recently founded National Vision Party (WAWASAN) of Hamzah Zainuddin, lost all their seats in the Legislative Assembly.
Observers attributed the result to a strong Malay vote swing and consolidation of Malay Muslim support towards the BN-PN alliance. BN and PN's call for a defense of Malay-Muslim identity and political power resonated with Malay Muslim voters, while diminishing Malay support and dissatisfaction among non-Malay voters as a result of PH's perceived anti-non-Malay policies under the federal PH-led unity government of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also contributed to a swing in votes. This marked continued setbacks for PH after its recent landslide defeats in the 2025 Sabah state election and 2026 Johor state election.
A day after the election, Juasseh assemblyman Ismail Lasim was appointed and sworn in by Tuanku Muhriz as the new Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan.
Constituencies
Composition before dissolution PHBNPN17145 11511432DAPPKRAMANAHUMNOPASBERSATU Background
Previous election
The previous state election was held on 12 August 2023 following the dissolution of the 15th State Legislative Assembly. The alliance between the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan coalitions won a two-thirds supermajority, securing 31 of 36 seats. Pakatan Harapan's Aminuddin Harun, serving since 2018, continued as chief minister for a second term at the head of a PH–BN coalition.
2026 royal crisis
The Undang Yang Empat are the ruling chiefs or territorial chiefs who play an important role in the election of a new Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan.
On 17 April 2026, Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun announced that Datuk Mubarak Dohak was removed from his office as Undang of Sungei Ujong, with effect from 13 May 2025, for 33 alleged offences by Mubarak relating to the state's traditional and customary laws. This announcement came after a special session of the Dewan Keadilan dan Undang (DKU) chaired by Yang di-Pertuan Besar Tuanku Muhriz advised the Luak of Sungei Ujong to accept Mubarak's removal, in which Klana Hulu of Sungei Ujong Clan Matriarch (Ibu Soko) and her immediate heirs (Anak Waris) were also in attendance.
On 19 April, Mubarak and the other three Undangs (Dato' Haji Maarof bin Mat Rashad of Jelebu, Dato' Haji Muhammed bin Abdullah of Johol, and Dato' Haji Abdul Rahim Yasin of Rembau) declared the removal of Tuanku Muhriz over claims of alleged misconduct and named Tunku Nadzaruddin, the Tunku Panglima of Negeri Sembilan and the third son of the 10th Yang di-Pertuan Besar Tuanku Ja'afar, as the 12th Yang di-Pertuan Besar.
On the 20th, Aminuddin rejected the declaration on the grounds that Mubarak, who signed and read the declaration, no longer held any authority as Undang, having not received the mandate from the Klana Hulu Matriarch and her heirs. On the following day, the four Undang claimed that Mubarak's removal was not valid as the DKU members who were present during the special session did not make a decision on the matter and that the other three Undang did not agree with Mubarak's removal, also adding that Aminuddin was no longer fit to lead the state administration and should be replaced.
The standoff led to an indefinite postponement of the State Legislative Assembly on April 23 after the Undangs boycotted the opening ceremony.
Royal crisis becomes political crisis: UMNO withdraws from the state government On 27 April, 14 UMNO assemblymen withdrew their support for Aminuddin, accusing him of “mishandling” the royal crisis and failing to respect traditional institutions. UMNO leader Jalaluddin Alias declared that Aminuddin had failed to inform UMNO party representatives in the state executive council about prior discussions about the royal dispute and were only aware after the issue escalated. Following an emergency audience with the Tuanku Muhriz and a subsequent meeting with state DAP leaders, Aminuddin told a press conference he would remain in office for the time being. Aminuddin added that UMNO assemblymen would be removed from the Negeri Sembilan State Executive Council following their retraction of support.
The opposition, Perikatan Nasional said that it was “prepared” to work with all 14 UMNO lawmakers to form a new government and oust Aminuddin and Pakatan Harapan from the state government. Negeri Sembilan UMNO and Barisan Nasional declared that they had obtained a simple majority to form the state government with the support of the five PN assemblymen, a total of 19 seats of the 36 seat legislature, against PH's 17.
However, on 30 April, federal UMNO President and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that UMNO would remain in the unity government with Pakatan Harapan.
On 24 May, DAP secretary-general and state member for Chennah Anthony Loke said the Negeri Sembilan Legislative Assembly should be dissolved to allow voters to elect a new government as they now had a "trust issue" with UMNO and the situation was now "untenable" even though UMNO decided to remain in the state government.
BN-PN plot to form state government A Free Malaysia Today report on 8 June revealed the existence of an alleged letter dated May 25 by Bersatu President Muhyiddin Yassin to PAS leaders, revealing that Perikatan Nasional held preliminary discussions with UMNO regarding efforts to remove Aminuddin as Menteri Besar, to form a BN-PN government. Discussions at Bersatu headquarters on April 24, involved PAS Secretary-General Takiyuddin Hassan, along with three PAS assemblymen, Bersatu Secretary-General Azmin Ali and two Bersatu assemblymen to sign a statutory declaration. Discussions that night continued to took place between state UMNO chief Jalaluddin and several of the party's assemblymen at a hotel. Ultimately, discussions between PAS and Bersatu ended on 28 April and Bersatu ended any support for a government with UMNO without agreement from PAS, following UMMO's announcement that it would remain in government with Pakatan Harapan. The action of the Bersatu assemblyman in Negeri Sembilan withdrawing support for Umno is among the issues cited by PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang as the reason for the party to reassess its relationship with Bersatu, culminating in PAS cutting ties with Bersatu on 9 June 2026.
Dissolution of the state assembly The next Negeri Sembilan state election was not initially due until November 2028, but in a late night press conference on 4 June, Aminuddin announced that the State Legislative Assembly would be dissolved for a fresh election. The Legislative Assembly was dissolved on the next day, 5 June with the consent of Tuanku Muhriz.
Observers see PH's move for a snap election in Negeri Sembilan as a “calculated effort” to preempt any political momentum BN might gain in the 2026 Johor state election announced one week earlier on 1 June, where BN has signalled its intent to contest independently and is widely expected to secure a decisive victory. Negeri Sembilan is considered as reflective of the national political sentiment compared to Johor, which is UMNO's stronghold.
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 Pakatan Harapan is expected to defend its governing mandate and aim to win a majority, while Barisan Nasional also aims to win government in its own right after losing power in 2018. Both coalitions have each decided to put up candidates independently instead of an joint electoral pact, unlike in 2023. However Barisan Nasional has expressed its interest to form a new but still unnamed pact, as they only announce candidate for some of the constituencies.
Perikatan Nasional announced to contest in remaining 11 constituencies not contested by BN. Cooperation between PAS and Bersatu was put in uncertainty after PAS's decision to sever ties with Bersatu on 9 June. Bersatu initially planned to contest at least 15 seats under PN, while PAS said no decision had been made on whether the party would contest the state election using the PN logo. Bersatu announced on 15 July 2026 to contest under its own banner and may invite other parties to contest with it, despite staying in PN. Recently admitted to PN, Bersatu breakaway Hamzah Zainuddin's party Wawasan would contest under PN, while Pejuang decided not to participate. Far-right party BERJASA have also announced its possible participation and cooperation with PAS, eventually putting a candidate not contesting PN directly. URIMAI party made its electoral debut by contesting 2 seats under Bersatu.