1987 Sarawak state election

1987 Sarawak state election
← 1983 15–16 April 1987 1991 →
All 48 seats in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly
25 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Abdul Taib Mahmud Leo Moggie Abdul Rahman Ya'kub
Party BN PBDS PERMAS
Leader since 26 March 1981 (1981-03-26) 17 July 1983 (1983-07-17) 19 March 1987 (1987-03-19)
Leader's seat Sebandi not contesting Matu-Daro (lost)
Last election 38 seats, 59.2% 6 seats, 9.3% New party
Seats before 38 6 -
Seats won 28 15 5
Seat change Decrease10 Increase9 -
Popular vote 249,289 79,548 64,152
Percentage 55.3% 17.6% 14.2%
Swing Decrease3.9% Increase8.3% -
Chief Minister before election

Abdul Taib Mahmud
BN

Subsequent chief minister

Abdul Taib Mahmud
BN

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The fifth Sarawak state election was held between Wednesday, 15 April and Thursday, 16 April 1987 with a nomination date set on Monday, 6 April 1987. This was a snap election following the 'Ming Court' affair. The state assembly was dissolved on 12 March 1987 by Sarawak governor with the advice of chief minister of Sarawak, Abdul Taib Mahmud.[1]

All the 48 Sarawak state assembly seats were contested. In this election, Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) fielded candidates for all 48 seats, PBDS for 21 seats, PERMAS for 21 seats, Democratic Action Party (DAP) for 11 seats, and Sarawak Democratik Bersatu (BERSATU) for one seat. There were 16 independents contesting for the seats. There were a total of 118 candidates vying for the seats, which was the lowest since 1979 election.[2] A total of 625,270 voters were eligible to cast their votes.[3]

  1. ^ Nuraina, Samad (2 April 1987). "PBDS gets to keep BN symbol". New Straits Times. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  2. ^ "118 stand in 48 constituencies - Contest for all Sarawak seats". New Straits Times. 7 April 1987. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  3. ^ "April 15–16 polls". People's Mirror. 20 March 1987. Retrieved 4 October 2020.