2021 Sarawak state election

2021 Sarawak state election
← 2016 18 December 2021 Before April 2027 →
All 82 seats in the Legislative Assembly
42 seats needed for a majority
Registered1,252,014
Turnout60.67%
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Abang Openg Wong Soon Koh Chong Chieng Jen
Party PBB PSB DAP
Alliance Gabungan Parti Sarawak Pakatan Harapan
Leader since 13 January 2017 2015 10 June 2013
Leader's seat Gedong Bawang Assan Padungan
Last election 61 seats, 62.18%[nb 1] Did not contest[nb 2] 10 seats, 30.55%
Seats before 67 6 5
Seats won 76 4 2
Seat change Increase 9 Decrease 2 Decrease 3
Popular vote 457,233 139,515 78,197
Percentage 61.26% 18.69% 10.48%
Swing Decrease 0.92% Increase 18.69% Decrease 20.07%
Chief Minister before election

Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Abang Openg
GPS–PBB

Elected Chief Minister

Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Abang Openg (Later Premier)
GPS–PBB

The 2021 Sarawak state election, formally the 12th Sarawak general election, took place on 18 December 2021. This election was to elect 82 members of the 19th Sarawak State Legislative Assembly. The previous assembly was dissolved on 3 November 2021.

As the previous assembly first sat on 7 June 2016, it was originally set to be dissolved automatically on 7 June 2021. However, the 2021 state emergency declaration, preceded by a federal 2021 Malaysian state of emergency declaration nationwide, arising from the 2020–22 Malaysian political crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, suspended the automatic dissolution of the legislature until the proposed end of the emergency duration on 2 February 2022.[1][2] On 3 November 2021, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had consented to lift the state of emergency thus the state legislative assembly dissolved automatically and the state election must be held within 60 days after to elect a new state government.[3]

For the first time as a local coalition, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) won an overwhelming landslide in the election, winning 76 seats and a supermajority over the legislature.[4] At the same time, Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) won four seats, becoming the largest opposition and the first Sarawak-based opposition party to win a seat in an election since 2006. Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan (PH), however, suffered a crushing defeat, with the Democratic Action Party (DAP) winning only two seats for the coalition, experiencing a decline from seven seats in 2016. Its other component parties, People's Justice Party (PKR) and National Trust Party (AMANAH) lost in all seats contested by the both parties.


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  1. ^ "Term of Sarawak's legislative assembly ends, but it will continue until Feb 2 due to state of emergency". The Straits Times. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Dr Sim: No election in Sarawak until after Feb 2, 2022 due to Emergency". Borneo Post Online. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  3. ^ Sharon Ling (3 November 2021). "Emergency in Sarawak lifted". The Star. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  4. ^ Samuel Aubrey (19 December 2021). "GPS officially wins 76 out of 82 seats following thumping victory in Mulu". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 20 December 2021.