The following are key facts about the soon-to-be held general election, after Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced the dissolution of parliament today.

  • About 10.3 million people, aged 21 and above, are eligible to vote in the country's 11th general elections since independence from Britain in 1957. This includes some one million people voting for the first time.

    • They will choose 219 representatives for the lower house of parliament and 505 lawmakers for 12 state assemblies for a new five-year term. This is an increase of 26 parliamentary and 63 state seats after a recent reworking of electoral boundaries.

    • Candidates can only begin their campaigns after nomination day, which will be set by the Election Commission. There must be a minimum one-week campaigning period before polling which must be held within 60 days of parliament being dissolved, but is expected before the end of March

  • Individual candidates are elected on the first-past-the-post system and the party with the most seats wins.

  • Some 7,500 polling stations, involving 17,200 workers, will open for a single day of voting. The results are expected to be declared within hours of the polls closing.

  • The elections, which come nine months ahead of the expiry of the government's term, are being seen as a referendum on new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, less than five months after he succeeded Mahathir Mohamad, who retired on October 31 last year after 22 years in power.

  • Racial breakdown of the voters: Malays 52 percent, Chinese 35 percent, Indians 10 percent, plus indigenous peoples, according to the Electoral Commission. The figures differ from the ethnic breakdown of Malaysia's population of 25 million, with proportionately fewer Malays registered to vote

    • The key political parties contesting the general elections are:

    Barisan Nasional

    This multi-racial coalition has been in power in one form or another since independence from Britain in 1957.

    It has a power-sharing formula among its 14 parties, with the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) as the dominant force.

    The coalition, which includes the major parties representing the Chinese and Indian minorities, controlled 150 out of 194 seats in the last parliament, but its share of the popular vote fell to 56 percent in the 1999 polls from 65 percent in 1995 elections.

    The coalition is expected to maintain its grip on power.

    Umno

    Formed in 1946 to protect the interests of the Malay majority, Umno has more than 2.8 million members.

    Due to its dominance within the ruling coalition, the Umno president and deputy president traditionally become Malaysia's prime minister and deputy premier.

    Umno held 72 seats in the last parliament after losing 20 seats in 1999 polls to the opposition Islamic Party (PAS).

    This election is seen as a major test for Umno and a referendum on its new leader, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, less than five months after he succeeeded Mahathir Mohamad, who retired Oct 31 last year after 22 years in power.

    PAS

    The Muslim-based PAS rose to prominence in 1999 polls and is the main threat to Umno. It controls two of Malaysia's 13 states and has 26 parliamentary seats.

    Set up in 1951 by Islamic religious scholars, PAS joined the Barisan Nasional coalition in 1973 but was expelled four years later after a revolt in northeast Kelantan state against a chief minister appointed from Kuala Lumpur.

    Its main political impact is in the northeastern Malay heartland where its message to spurn worldly riches for spiritual rewards has drawm many rural voters. PAS aims to set up a theocratic state with Shariah criminal laws complete with amputations for theft and stoning to death for adultery if it comes to power.

    Keadilan

    The National Justice Party (Keadilan) was formed in 1999 and is led by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the wife of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

    Anwar was sentenced to a total 15 years for sodomy and corruption after being sacked by Mahathir in 1998. He says he was framed to prevent him challenging Mahathir.

    Keadilan held five parliamentary seats.

    DAP

    The Democratic Action Party (DAP) had 10 seats and is the key non-Malay opposition party.

    It originated as a branch of Singapore's People's Action Party but when Singapore was expelled from the Federation of Malaysa in 1965, DAP was launched in 1966. It campaigns for a democratic, socialist Malaysia and is a member of the Socialist International group.

    Support has come primarily from non-Malays, particularly the minority Chinese frustrated with special business and education privileges for the Malays.

    It teamed up with PAS and Keadilan in 1999 polls but withdrew from the alliance in 2001 amid a row over PAS' Islamic ambitions. - AFP