Polls have closed in Malaysia in what is being billed as the country's tightest-ever election, clouded by a corruption scandal linked to one of its leading candidates.

With nearly 15 million registered voters, polls opened at 00:00 GMT on Wednesday across the country and closed at 09:00 GMT.

Malaysia's 14th general election pits incumbent Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is seeking a third term, against his one-time mentor and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Najib, who has been in power since 2009, cast his ballot in the city of Pekan.

"It's been a calm election in terms of the physical aspect of the election," he told reporters.

"It's not been that tense, but it has been quite vicious in the content of the personal attacks which doesn't reflect a mature democracy," he added.

"But the most important thing is for the people to decide on the destiny of this nation, and it must be based on facts, it must be based on policy, it must be based on who can execute the best plan for the nation and for the people."

By 05:00 GMT, voter turnout was at 55 percent - lower than the last election in 2013, according to statistics released by the Election Commission.

Al Jazeera's Florence Looi, reporting from the capital, Kuala Lumpur, said it was the first time voting was held mid-week.

"The government declared it as a public holiday, but it is still going to make it quite difficult for some people who are working, perhaps in the bigger cities, but are still registered to vote in their hometowns and small areas, who have to travel back to vote," Looi said.

Najib's ruling right-wing party, Barisan Nasional, has been in power since the country gained independence in 1957.

But allegations of his links to a corruption scandal involving a state-owned investment fund has cast a shadow over his election campaign. Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Meanwhile, his main challenger, Mahathir quit his old party and gave the opposition a boost when he forged an alliance with them.

The 92-year-old's return to politics, as chairman of Pakatan Harapan, or Alliance of Hope, gave a new lease of life to the opposition alliance, which had been floundering since its leader Anwar Ibrahim was jailed for sodomy on what his supporters said were politically motivated charges.

"You've got two political heavyweights leading the battle," said Al Jazeera's Looi.

According to polls on Tuesday, Najib's ruling Barisan Nasional party could take up to 100 seats out of the 222 up for grabs in the parliament, falling short of a clear majority win.

Al Jazeera's Looi said: "37 seats are too close to call".

Among the key election issues has been the rising cost of living in the country, with many voters placing blame on the goods and services tax that was imposed three years ago.

"I hope personally and maybe people share my thoughts, we hope for some kind of change that will bring prosperity to our country," Zulkifli Bin Mat Saad, a voter, told Al Jazeera.

"So, whoever it is [that wins] please stay true to whatever manifesto or promises, and hold on to those promises and principles."

Another voter, Muhamad Nursuhairi, said: "I feel so lucky and happy, that I could vote today. And that I could exercise my responsibility as a Malaysian citizen." </s> KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysians voted on Wednesday in a cliffhanger election pitting Prime Minister Najib Razak’s coalition against a resurgent opposition led by 92-year-old former leader Mahathir Mohamad, but the government is expected to clinch a narrow win.

Leaders from both the opposition alliance and the ruling party claimed their communications were being disrupted by non-stop spam calls on their mobile phones as voting progressed.

Najib’s Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is expected to win despite an election-eve opinion poll suggesting that its support was slipping and that Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) would land more votes in peninsular Malaysia, home to 80 percent of the population.

Under Malaysia’s first-past-the-post system, the party or alliance with the majority of seats in the 222-member parliament wins. Most experts believe that is within Najib’s reach despite allegations of kleptocracy in a multi-billion-dollar graft scandal that have dogged him since 2015.

Najib has been cleared of any offence by the attorney general.

“I think right now, it looks more favorable to BN ... however, the margin that we’re talking about is very small,” said Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Osman, a Malaysia scholar at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

Polling stations for the 14.9 million registered voters will close at 5:00 p.m. (0900 GMT). The Election Commission said that after four hours of voting the turnout had been 47 percent, which - according to media reports in 2013 - compared with 59 percent in the last election.

Most results are expected before midnight (1600 GMT) but the count may spill into the early hours of Thursday.

“This is a big day for Malaysia as this is when we decide our future,” said cardiologist Hasri Samion at a polling station in central Kuala Lumpur. “I think the people have been complacent for too long. We need a visionary to lead Malaysia.”

Najib, casting his vote, said he was confident of victory following what he described as “quite vicious” personal attacks during the campaign.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said in a statement that an initial investigation into the spam calls pointed to anonymous bot (automated program) attacks from various sources and on various targets irrespective of political parties.

“We have lost contact with all of our polling agents,” said Lim Guan Eng, a senior leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party. “Our campaign workers are also affected. This is a dirty tech attack on us, we have been paralyzed.”

In a tweet, Najib condemned the “tactic of spam calls” from international numbers received by his camp’s leaders and said web sites of the BN alliance could not be accessed. He said he had ordered immediate action to be taken.

The survey published by independent pollster Merdeka Center on Tuesday said BN looked set to win 100 constituencies nationwide and the opposition 83. With these numbers, neither camp would have the 112 seats required to rule and the result will hinge on 37 seats that the pollster said were too close to call.

At the last election in 2013, BN lost the majority vote in its worst performance ever, but pulled in 133 seats.

Unless he improves on that tally, Najib could come under pressure within his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party to stand aside ahead of the next election, analysts say.

Nawab, the scholar, said there was a small chance that neither BN nor the opposition secures a majority, which would bring a “hung parliament” and potentially put the Islamic Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) in the position of kingmaker.

However, political analysts believe PAS will fall short of the 21 seats it won in 2013. The Merdeka poll had it winning just two seats.

Mahathir’s opposition alliance, which counts on urban votes and support from the minority ethnic Chinese and Indian communities, is hoping that with the long-ruling former leader as its standard bearer, it will draw in Malay voters traditionally loyal to BN.

However, Mahathir is a polarizing figure and many voters are suspicious of him because of his attacks on independent institutions when he was prime minister between 1981 and 2003.

Najib’s other formidable opponent is former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is currently serving a five-year prison sentence on a sodomy conviction that has been attacked by human rights groups as politically motivated.

Anwar led the opposition in the 2008 and 2013 polls. In an unlikely reconciliation, he has joined hands with Mahathir, who sacked him as his deputy in 1998.

In Najib’s favor, ethnic Malays support BN for affirmative-action policies that give them government contracts, cheap housing and guaranteed university admissions.

But Najib, 64, has been buffeted by a scandal over 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state fund from which billions of dollars were allegedly siphoned off. The prime minister, who was chairman of 1MDB’s advisory board, has denied any wrongdoing. </s> KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Latest on Malaysia’s election (all times local):

Mahathir Mohamad says the opposition parties who won a shock victory in Malaysia’s elections have a clear mandate to form a new government and he expects to be sworn in as prime minister on Thursday.

He disputed outgoing premier Najib Razak’s assertion that the king must appoint the new prime minister because no single party has a parliamentary majority. The constitution, he said, only specifies that the prime minister must represent those with a majority in the legislature.

In a lively news conference, the 92-year-old Mahathir flagged sweeping changes for Malaysia.

He vowed to cancel an unpopular goods and service tax imposed since 2015 and criticized a recently introduced “fake news” law. The government could also renegotiate the terms of Chinese loans for infrastructure projects.

Mahathir said the new government would seek the release and full pardon of Anwar Ibrahim, an opposition icon imprisoned on sodomy charges that Anwar and his supporters said were fabricated by the National Front to crush the opposition.

Malaysia’s prime minister Najib Razak, who led the ruling National Front coalition to a historic loss in a national election on Wednesday, has conceded defeat.

At a televised press conference, Najib said, “I and my colleagues accept the verdict of the people.”

He said the National Front “will honor the principle of democracy in the parliament.”

Opposition parties, led by Malaysia’s former authoritarian leader Mahathir Mohamad, tapped into anger over a corruption scandal and a new tax to end the National Front’s 60-year hold on power.

Because no single party won a majority in the election, Najib said the country’s king will have responsibility for appointing the next prime minister.

“The national front will respect whatever decision is made by the king,” he said. “I urge all Malaysians to be calm and to trust the king’s wisdom to make the best choice.”

Supporters of Malaysia’s new government have taken to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to celebrate their unexpected election victory.

People stood on roadsides waving the white, blue and red flag of the opposition alliance that triumphed in Wednesday’s national election. Cars honked their horns as they sped past.

“I’m so happy,” said a woman waving the opposition flag. “I hope we’ll have a better Malaysia now. Malaysia reborn!”

Malaysian voters were angered by a corruption scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Razak and new taxes. The opposition victory ends the ruling National Front’s 60-year-old on power,

Mahathir Mohamad says the new Malaysian government will not be seeking revenge on defeated prime minister Najib Razak, who is accused of involvement in a corruption scandal at state investment fund 1MDB.

U.S. investigators say at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund by associates of Najib between 2009 and 2014, including $700 million that landed in Najib’s bank account.

Najib, who denies any wrongdoing, clamped down on dissent to survive the scandal.

Mahathir said he is not seeking revenge and wants to restore the rule of law.

He added that those found to have breached the law will be prosecuted.

Mahathir Mohamad has said after he led a Malaysian opposition alliance to a historic election victory that he expects a prime minister will be sworn in within a day.

Mahathir was the country’s authoritarian leader for 22 years until 2003. He says the opposition’s majority is bigger than announced so far.

The 92-year-old Mahathir says a representative of Malaysia’s constitutional monarchy has contacted the opposition to acknowledge its victory.

Mahathir emerged from retirement and joined the opposition after being angered by an epic corruption scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The opposition’s win ends the National Front’s 60 year hold on power.

Official results from Malaysia’s national election show the opposition alliance led by the country’s former authoritarian ruler Mahathir Mohamad has won a majority in parliament, ending the 60-year rule of the National Front.

The Election Commission says the opposition has so far won 112 seats and the National Front has 76 seats.

The opposition is also sweeping state elections, including Johor state where the dominant Malay party in the National Front was founded.

Malaysian voters have been angered by a corruption scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Razak and new taxes.

Mahathir is 92 and leads an alliance of opposition parties. </s> Early exit polls show the Prime Minister's coalition Barisan Nasional (BN)– which has been in power for 61 years – clings to a slight lead with 24 of Parliament's seats. Unofficial results show 92-year-old Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) leader Mahathir Mohamad – a former Prime Minister and mentor of Najib - has clinched 17, reports Reuters. A total of just 122 is needed to secure victory, while 505 state seats are also being contested in the 14th general election of Malaysia.



It is though Najib will win overall, despite losing key states such as Kelantan, Penang and Selangor. An election-eve opinion poll suggested that support for BN was slipping and Mahathir's alliance would land the most votes in peninsular Malaysia, home to 80 percent of the population in this Southeast Asian nation. Najib 64, said he was confident of victory when he cast his vote, following what he has described as "vicious" attacks on him during the campaign.

A ticketing system was placed to ensure orderly voting. As many as 15 million registered Malaysians went to cast their vote. Results are expected to be announced overnight after a hotly-fought contest. How does the Malaysia Election work?

Elections in Malaysia exist at two levels: federal level and state level. Federal level elections are those for membership in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of Parliament, while state-level elections are for membership in the various State Legislative Assemblies. The winner of the election works on a basis of whoever gets the most seats throughout the election - even if it does not win the popular vote. At the federal level, voters elect the 222-member House of Representatives to Parliament. </s> related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

KUALA LUMPUR: In a stunning result that made political history, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) opposition coalition crossed the minimum threshold of 112 seats needed to form Malaysia's new government, according to figures from the Election Commission early Thursday (May 10) morning.

The result brings to an end the rule of Barisan Nasional (BN), which has dominated Malaysian politics for decades.

In a press conference just before the official confirmation, opposition leader and former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said PH had achieved a victory.

"We have achieved a very substantial majority," said the 92-year-old.

PH component parties Parti Keadilan Rakyat and Democratic Action Party officially crossed the victory threshold at around 4am after a long night of results which saw power steadily ebbing away from Najib Razak and his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party. The final official result showed that PH had won 113 seats, with BN on 79.



Dr Mahathir also said that a palace request has been made for Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to be the designated deputy Prime Minister.



The 92-year-old pledged a government that would include a "young person" and said he would honour his agreement to help secure a royal pardon for jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

However, he added that Anwar would have to win a by-election or be elected senator in order for him to take over as prime minister from Dr Mahathir, as per their agreement.

FIRST SIGN OF AN UPSET

The first sign that an upset was on the cards came when unofficial results started trickling in about four hours after the ballot boxes were closed.

At about 9pm, Bernama reported that caretaker Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai, the president of BN component party Malaysian Chinese Association, had lost his Bentong seat to PKR’s Wong Tack.

Caretaker Health Minister S Subramaniam, of BN component party Malaysian Indian Congress, was the next major casualty, losing his Segamat seat in Johor to PKR’s R Santhara Kumar.

At 9.30pm, there was respite for BN when word came in that incumbent prime minister Najib Razak – had successfully defended his Pekan seat in Pahang.

But the bloodbath continued for the ruling coalition.

By 9.45pm, another four deputy ministers had landed on the scrapheap.

At about the same time, it emerged that Mahathir would make a return to parliament after winning his Langkawi seat.

The result throws into doubt Najib Razak's position in his party.

While he had been praised for his fiscal policies, he was also unpopular for rolling out a goods and services tax in addition to being a target of unwanted international attention over allegations funds were misappropriated from a state fund he advised, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). He has denied any wrongdoing.



It was the controversy over the fund, however, that sparked Malaysia's longest serving prime minister's return to active politics after 22 years of retirement.

Mahathir had accused his former protege Najib of corruption and abuse of power before quitting UMNO to form his own party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

But at a press conference, Mahathir vowed: "We are not seeking revenge. We want to restore the rule of law."



As well as seizing control of the national government, several state legislatures across the country fell into opposition hands for the first time, including the highly symbolic bastion of Johor, the birthplace of Najib's party that was the lynchpin of the ruling coalition.



As it became clear that Mahathir had won, supporters took to the streets waving flags of the opposition alliance.

After polls closed earlier in the day, journalists had flocked to the headquarters of Najib's UMNO, but he failed to turn up to give a speech and the media were told to leave.

Huge numbers of voters earlier flocked to the polls across the country, despite Najib having called the election on a weekday in what critics said was a bid to keep turnout down.

The BN wipeout is a disaster for Najib, who had been under pressure to score an emphatic win after the government lost the popular vote for the first time at the last elections in 2013. </s> Malaysians have been voting all day to decide whether or to re-elect the prime minister’s long-running coalition, after allegations continued to rumble that the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) had billions siphoned off. Polling stations opened at 8am and closed at 5pm with results expected to arrive before midnight (5pm BST). However they were thrown into chaos after opposition leader and ex-prime minister Dr Mohamad, 92, claimed his party had won despite the Election Commission saying not all votes were verified. Commission chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah told reporters shortly after midnight local time (5pm BST): “Of course, political parties can declare whoever (they believe has won), but ... please wait.

“We would like to announce it as quickly as possible as well." The ruling coalition has made no comment, but the results are expected to be finalised imminently. How many parliamentary seats in Malaysia election are up for grabs? The latest official results show that so far, Mohammad’s Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) have won 80 seats and Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), have won 67.

A total of 222 seats are up for grabs in the first-past-the-post system, and a majority of 112 seats is required by a party or alliance to rule. The number of candidates running is up from 1,899 in 2013 to 2,333 this year. BN had been expected to win, albeit unconvincingly, but the party has lost seats in key seats where it traditionally held strongholds. An election-eve opinion poll suggested that support for BN was slipping and Mahathir's alliance would land the most votes in peninsular Malaysia, home to 80 percent of the population in this Southeast Asian nation.

The votes have proved controversial with people taking to social media to complain of long queues outside polling centres of three hours or more. Prior to that, opposition leaders claimed the process was biased in favour of the incumbent government after it redrew electoral boundaries. Voters were also in uproar about the mid-week poll date, leaving millions of people unable to cast their vote. Riot police had to be called to a results counting centre in Ayer Hiram, Jahor, after unmarked cars were stopped from entering. </s> The opposition is set to form a new government in Malaysia, after official figures showed that the Pakatan Harapan coalition has won the 112 parliament seats needed for a simple majority.

The result brings an end to the rule of Barisan Nasional, which has governed Malaysia since independence.

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Pakatan Harapan also captured seven out of 13 states in Wednesday's (May 9) election: Penang, Selangor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Perak and Johor.

It was a stunning result in the southernmost state - Johor has been held by the Barisan Nasional since independence. Incumbent chief minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin lost his seat in Pasir Gudang to PKR's Hassan Abdul Karim by a whopping 24,726 votes.



The states of Kelantan and Terengganu went to PAS.

The 14th General Election also saw at least two Barisan Nasional heavyweights - Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai and Health Minister S Subramaniam - lose their parliamentary seats.

Prime Minister Najib Razak, meanwhile, retained his Pekan parliamentary seat in Pahang.

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All 222 parliamentary seats were contested, along with 505 state seats. Nearly 14.5 million Malaysians were eligible to vote at the country's 8,253 polling stations.

Swipe to refresh our live blog for updates on election results: </s> Sixty years after independence, Malaysia is starting to see its own democracy emerge from the shadow of one-party rule.

The sudden, astonishing loss of office for the Barisan Nasional coalition of Najib Razak and the victory of an opposition coalition led by the former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad

shows democracy, which is supposed to be in decline around the world, retains its strength in our region. It’s a welcome sign.

The defeat of Najib Razak, though a surprise, is easily understood. Najib was the quintessential establishment candidate – descended from an aristocratic family, the son of Malaysia’s second prime minister and the nephew of its third.

Any political establishment that holds power for many decades will become complacent and run the risk of corruption. Najib has been accused, particularly by Dr Mahathir, of corrupt involvement in the 1MDB scandal and that taint, allied with the patchy performance of Malaysia’s economy and a highly unpopular goods and services tax, has brought him undone. </s> Kuala Lumpur : Mahathir Muhamad has claimed an extraordinary victory in Malaysia's 14th general election, opening the door to the first change of government in the 61 years since the country's independence.

Official results from the Malaysian electoral commission suggested at 2.30am (AEDT) that Mahathir's opponent Pakatan Harapan from the Alliance of Hope and its allied parties had so far won 48 seats, while the Prime Minister Najib Razak's governing Barisan Nasional (National Coalition) and its allies had won 46 seats.

An hour earlier, the 92-year-old Mahathir, who served as prime minister for 22 years until 2003, told media gathered at Kuala Lumpur's Sheraton Hotel that, based on unofficial counting, "it would seem that we have practically achieved that figure [112] and the figure for the Barisan Nasional is very much lower than that".

"We believe that from our official counting that they're left far behind. The likelihood is that they will not be forming the government. There is no way they can catch up," he said, adding that the opposition was also on track for victory in five state elections.
Elections in Malaysia are to occur in 2017 as efforts to challenge the legitimacy of Najib Razak mount.