BARISAN Nasional and Perikatan Nasional are claiming a simple majority in the 16th Melaka state election, with the alliance saying it is on course to win at least 15 of the 28 seats in the state assembly.
Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the alliance had secured enough seats to form the next state government, paving the way for Melaka BN chairman Ab Rauf Yusoh to retain the chief minister’s post.
BN contested 23 seats under its electoral arrangement with PN, which fielded candidates in the remaining five.
The early count, however, pointed to a difficult night for Pakatan Harapan, with several of its candidates trailing in closely watched constituencies.
In Paya Rumput, Prime Minister’s political secretary Datuk Azman Abidin was behind PN candidate Rafie Ahmad in a three-cornered contest.
Unofficial figures as of 7.58 pm showed Rafie leading with 12,327 votes, while Azman had secured 7,867. Bersama candidate Abdul Rashid Abu Bakar was third with 832 votes.
PH candidate Adly Zahari was also trailing in Bukit Katil, where the incumbent assemblyman and Deputy Defence Minister was behind PN’s Muhammad Ridzuan Mohd Sarif.
As of 7.10 pm, Muhammad Ridzuan had secured 462 votes against Adly’s 122.
The Bersama candidate had received 11 votes, while the independent candidate had three.
The figures were preliminary and did not represent the final results for either constituency.
A total of 687,697 voters were eligible to cast their ballots in the election, which will determine the composition of the 28-seat state assembly.
In the 2021 state election, BN won 21 seats, while PH secured five and PN took two.
However, the political landscape shifted after an Umno assemblyman defected to PAS before Melaka’s anti-hopping law came into force.
If the alliance’s claim is borne out by the official results, the election will mark another victory for BN in Melaka, this time with PN as its electoral partner. - November 14, 2026
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