At stake in this election:

• 219 seats in the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Paramount Ruler Tuanku SYED SIRAJUDDIN ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister ABDULLAH bin Ahmad Badawi
• Assembly: Malaysia has a bicameral Parliament (Parlimen) consisting of the Senate (Dewan Negara) with 69 seats and the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) with 219 seats.

* The paramount ruler is elected from nine of the sultans ruling the penisular Malaysian islands to serve a five-year term.

Description of electoral system:

• The Paramount Ruler is elected N/A to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is designated by parliament.
• In the Senate (Dewan Negara), 43 members are appointed by the paramount ruler to serve 3-year terms and 26 members are appointed by the state legislatures to serve 5-year terms. In the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) 219 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: National Front / Barisan Nasional (BN)*
  • Leader: ABDULLAH bin Ahmad Badawi
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 199
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 148
• Bloc: Alternative Front / Barisan Alternatif (BA)**
  • Leader: Abdul HADI Awang (PAS), WAN AZIZAH Wan Ismail (Keadilan), SYED Husin Ali (PRM)
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 7
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 27
• Party: Democratic Action Party (DAP)***
  • Leader: LIM Kit Siang
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 12
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 10
• Party: National Justice Party / Keadilan
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 1
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: N/A
• Party: Others
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: N/A

* The National Front consists of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), Malaysian Chinese Organization (MCA), Sarawak Indigenous People

Population:

• Population: 25,332,026 (2004)
• Registered Voters: 9,756,097 (2004)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 12,360,489 (2004)

·         Is Malaysia a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Malaysia ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (5 July 1995)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 20 (House of Representatives) (following the 2004 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 62 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Malaysia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (8 April 2008)

·         Has Malaysia ratified CRPD: Yes (19 July 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 3,799,803 (est.)