JOHOR BY-ELECTIONS | The high-stakes Pulai by-election was hampered by menacing skies and strong winds, discouraging voters from turning up today.
The Pulai polls will determine if Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim can have a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
Another by-election is also taking place for Simpang Jeram, a Johor state legislative assembly seat.
Malaysiakini brings you live updates on the results as we receive them (chart updates live):
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11.30pm: This concludes Malaysiakini’s live coverage of the Simpang Jeram and Pulai by-elections. Our coverage of the 14-day election campaign was brought to you by Alyaa Alhadjri, Shakira Buang, and Kimberly Tai.
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Win shows Johoreans ‘reject politics of hate’ - new Pulai MP
11.15pm: Newly elected Pulai MP Suhaizan Kaiat delivers his first official speech to supporters, as Amanah leaders and several local BN component chiefs look on.
“I view this victory as a gift for the late Salahuddin Ayub.
“It also shows that Bangsa Johor rejects politics of hate,” says the Johor Amanah vice-chief.
Suhaizan also thanks the campaign machinery from his party as well as those from new allies BN for their assistance, stressing their role in expanding his reach among Pulai voters.
Earlier, his arrival was met with cheers from supporters gathering at Dataran Taman Dahlia, Perling.
Lucky 7: Suhaizan finally wins on his seventh attempt
10.15pm: Suhaizan Kaiat, winner of today’s Pulai by-election, is finally a lawmaker after six unsuccessful attempts to get elected.
When he was with PAS, Suhaizan was a parliamentary candidate for Parit Sulong (2004) and Simpang Renggam (2013). He was also PAS’ candidate for the Kempas state assembly seat twice (2008 and 2013).
As an Amanah member, Suhaizan was their candidate for Kukup (2018) and Pulai Sebatang (2022).
Three of those contests (Kempas in 2008, Pulai Sebatang in 2022, and Parit Sulong in 2004) saw Suhaizan winning less than 40 percent of the vote share.
Official: Suhaizan wins Pulai by-election
10.10pm: The Election Commission officially declares Suhaizan Kaiat (above, right) as the winner of the Pulai parliamentary by-election with a majority of 18,641 votes.
Suhaizan bagged 48,283 votes in total with a 62 percent vote share, up from 55.5 percent in last year’s general election.
Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional bagged 29,642 votes. Its vote share also increased from 17.6 percent last year to 38 percent today.
The official results is 13,700 votes lower than the figures previously cited by Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki earlier tonight.
Unofficial: Harapan wins Pulai, PN concedes defeat
9.55pm: The latest unofficial data has Pakatan Harapan winning Pulai with an unassailable majority.
Perikatan Nasional candidate for Pulai, Zulkifli Jaafar, concedes defeat.
However, he says it is an “honourable defeat”.
“Previously, the difference in votes is huge, but now it’s just belas ribu (10,000-19,000),” he tells reporters.
The latest data that Malaysiakini has shows PN trailing by about 19,630 votes, with at least 4,000 votes yet to be counted.
‘Polls show Harapan-BN not rejected by rakyat’
9.45pm: Newly elected Simpang Jeram state assemblyperson Nazri Abdul Rahman, in his maiden address after winning, says the results of both by-elections put to rest claims that the public cannot accept the Harapan-BN pact.
“That was what (our rivals) were claiming. God willing, the results were different,” he said.
He was quick to stress that his victory belonged to the Harapan-BN pact and everyone who participated in their campaign.
“This is a victory for the unity government. This election victory was the result of the efforts by Harapan and BN.
“I thank both vote canvassers from Harapan and BN. Without cooperation and hard work, there was no way I could win,” he said.
Harapan landslide victory in Pulai, Umno sec-gen claims
9.30pm: Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki claims Pakatan Harapan won Pulai by a landslide with a 42,223-vote majority.
An infographic posted by Asyraf on Facebook claims that Harapan bagged 66,900 votes, against 24,677 votes for Perikatan Nasional.
The graphic also claims that the final turnout was 55 percent.
Malaysiakini is not yet able to verify Asyraf’s claim.
Harapan candidate leads in Pulai by 13k
9.20pm: Pulai - Pakatan Harapan’s Pulai candidate Suhaizan Kaiat is now at the Election Commission’s vote tallying centre.
The Star reports that the Johor Amanah deputy chief is given a hero’s welcome by supporters.
The latest unofficial results have Suhaizan leading with a 13,000-vote majority.
However, the same unofficial results indicate there are still over 30,000 votes uncounted.
Umno leaders join Harapan at Pulai vote tally event
9.15pm: Johor Umno chief Mohd Khaled Norden leads Umno leaders as they arrive at Dataran Taman Dahlia in Perling to join their Pakatan Harapan counterparts and supporters.
Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan, Umno Women’s chief Noraini Ahmad, and Johor Umno Youth chief Azleen Ambros are among those present.
Supporters greet Ahmad with some calling for him to deliver a poem but the emcee replies lightheartedly that the recital can wait once all announcements are done.
While waiting for the official result of the Pulai parliamentary by-election, Johor Harapan chief Aminolhuda Hassan addresses the crowd, once again thanking everyone for their support.
Victory speeches at Simpang Jeram
9.10pm: Pakatan Harapan election machinery director Azam Harun addresses the growing number of supporters at Dataran Taman Dahlia.
He thanks all party workers and announces Harapan’s victory in Simpang Jeram.
“I want to say the work we did for the past few weeks was exhausting [...] but Alhamdulillah I believe that Johor will start a precedent for Harapan-Umno cooperation.”
Official results: Nazri retains Simpang Jeram for Harapan
9.00pm: Nazri Abdul Rahman retains the Simpang Jeram state seat for Pakatan Harapan.
Harapan won 13,844 votes while Perikatan Nasional came in second with 10,330 votes. The independent candidate S Jeganathan won 311 votes.
In terms of vote share, Harapan won 56.54 percent, up from 40.94 percent won by the incumbent Salahuddin Ayub during the 2022 Johor legislative assembly election.
However, PN’s vote share also increased to 42.19 percent up from 29.72 in 2022.
This suggests that those who voted for BN in 2022 have split their vote between Harapan and PN. However, this is only a preliminary conclusion which requires further scrutiny when the results at the voting district levels are released.
Amanah leaders join supporters at results viewing
8.40pm: Pulai - Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and Johor party chief Aminolhuda Hassan join supporters at Dataran Taman Dahlia in Perling, where the party is streaming the latest unofficial by-election results.
However, the screen appears to be malfunctioning, causing the crowd to become upset.
“Patience, patience, this is not a blackout at the vote tallying centre,” the emcee says.
Harapan has 13k-vote lead in Pulai
8.35pm: The low turnout does not appear to have hampered Pakatan Harapan’s performance in Pulai after all.
Harapan now has a 13,000-vote lead over Perikatan Nasional in the parliamentary seat.
Harapan has 23,334 votes while PN has 9,591.
Unofficial: Harapan wins Simpang Jeram
8.30pm: Pakatan Harapan has unofficially won the Simpang Jeram state seat with 13,655 votes against 10,147 votes for Perikatan Nasional.
This has exceeded the 50 percent threshold according to Malaysiakini’s estimates.
Going into the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections, the latter looked to have been PN’s best bet among the two seats being contested.
This was partly due to the seat’s close proximity to PN chief Muhyiddin Yassin’s home base in Pagoh - and the seat’s higher Malay voter demographic at almost 52 percent.
Harapan on track to win Simpang Jeram, leads in Pulai
8.11pm: Based on unofficial results, Malaysiakini does not expect Perikatan Nasional to be able to overtake Pakatan Harapan in Simpang Jeram.
With 12,036 votes, Harapan is expected to cross the 50 percent threshold soon and win the state seat.
Meanwhile, Harapan is still in the lead in Pulai with 11,841 votes against 9,111 votes for PN.
Harapan crosses 10k votes in Simpang Jeram
7.50pm: Pakatan Harapan crosses the 10,000-vote mark in Simpang Jeram according to unofficial results.
Harapan reportedly has 10,333 votes in the state seat while Perikatan Nasional has 7,839.
Over in Pulai, Harapan is maintaining a safe lead against PN, with 9,212 votes against 5,520.
Harapan maintains lead
7.35pm: The latest unofficial results have Pakatan Harapan maintaining a lead in both Pulai and Simpang Jeram.
In Pulai, Harapan has 6,031 votes while Perikatan Nasional is trailing with 3,961 votes.
Over in Simpang Jeram, Harapan is leading with 6,858 votes, while PN has 4,616 votes.
Harapan leading in Pulai
7.25pm: Early unofficial results from Pulai have Pakatan Harapan leading with 4,574 votes thus far.
Perikatan Nasional is trailing with 2,305 votes, while the independent candidate has 48 votes.
Over in Simpang Jeram, Harapan is leading with 178 votes, while PN has 95 votes thus far, and four votes for the independent candidate.
Harapan and BN gather separately in Pulai
7.15pm: Over at Pulai, Pakatan Harapan and BN will be observing the unofficial vote count in separate locations.
Harapan are expected to gather at Dataran Taman Dahlia starting at 8pm while BN supporters are gathering at Kompleks Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat.
Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi was seen earlier with the BN supporters.
Perikatan Nasional will be gathering at their campaign headquarters at Jalan Rawa, Perling. Coincidentally, their headquarters neighbours the Pulai MCA division office.
There are no such gatherings for Simpang Jeram. Both PN and Harapan candidate representatives said they will be at the official Election Commission vote tallying centre in Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim, Muar.
PN wins most postal votes in Simpang Jeram
7.10pm: Postal votes for Simpang Jeram have been counted by the Election Commission. The results are 61 for Perikatan Nasional, 36 for Pakatan Harapan, and none for independent candidate S Jeganathan.
There were five spoilt votes.
Dim outlook for Harapan
6.45pm: With the final turnout in Pulai expected to be below 50 percent, Pakatan Harapan is in a precarious position despite previously winning the seat with 55 percent of votes in last year’s general election.
In that same election, Perikatan Nasional bagged 17.6 percent of the votes.
This means if PN manages to get all its supporters in Pulai from last year to go out and vote for them again, the opposition coalition can get within striking distance of the halfway mark.
The six state elections last month also showed that PN has been gaining ground among BN supporters, giving it an even bigger edge today.
Harapan’s best hope is that the bad weather in southern Johor today deterred just as many PN voters as it did Harapan and BN supporters.
Very low turnout
6.30pm: According to the Election Commission’s last update at 4pm, the turnout at Pulai was only 42 percent - a far cry from the 70.96 percent seen during the 15th general election last year.
The turnout at Simpang Jeram was marginally better at 56 percent.
For comparison, the turnout for the Aug 12 elections for six states averaged around 70 percent.
