GE13: Parliament dissolved!

After months of playing a guessing game with voters, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has announced the dissolution of Parliament today, paving the way for the 13th general election.

He said this in a 15-minute 'live' telecast on all television stations at 11.30am, following an audience with the Agong early this morning.

Najib called on all state assemblies to be dissolved today as well, to enable state and parliamentary polls to be held simultaneously.

Contacted after Najib's announcement, Election Commission (EC) chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the commission will call a meeting to decide the date for nominations and polling.

This can only be done after the EC receives a letter of notification from the speaker of Parliament, he said.

Asked when he expects to receive the letter, Abdul Aziz said: "Maybe today or tomorrow or Friday or Saturday.

"But once we receive the notification letter, we will meet to fix a date for the polls."

Soon after Najib's announcement, Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim revealed in his Twitter account that he will seek an audience with Selangor sultan in the shortest possible time.

"Thank God, finally the Parliament is dissolved. I will seek an audience with Sultan as soon as possible to discuss the status of Selangor state assembly," reads his Twitter posting.

Over to EC

According to law, the general election must be held within 60 days of dissolution of Parliament.

Nevertheless, it is speculated that EC is likely to pick a date in early May.

The minimum campaign period is 10 days, a new requirement imposed by the EC in line with a recommendation by the parliamentary select committee on electoral reform.

Najib will be seeking his first mandate since assuming the post of prime minister on April 3, 2009, after taking over from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Today marks the fourth year of Najib's premiership.

In 2008, Abdullah had led BN to its worst ever electoral outing, losing five states as well as its long-time hold on a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

There are 222 parliamentary seats currently up for grabs, with the BN holding 137 seats, Pakatan Rakyat 75, and 10 in the hands of Independents and three other parties.

Pakatan controls four states - Selangor, Penang, Kelantan and Kedah - while BN has nine under its belt.

This time around, Najib is seen as facing an increasingly cohesive federal opposition, which aims to unseat the BN and install Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister.

This election will see a huge number of new voters - an increase of 3 million, or 25 percent, since 2008, making it the biggest spike in Malaysia’s electoral history.