2025 Sabah state election

Traditionally, state elections are held simultaneously with the parliamentary election but each state can decide when to hold its election. This is because state assemblies are dissolved by their respective ruler or governor on the advice of the chief minister of the state. The pre-election state government led by Hajiji was formed following the 2023 Sabah political crisis, where UMNO Sabah had attempted to engineer the formation of a new government by retracting its support for Hajiji in the state legislative assembly. The attempt failed and resulted in the exclusion of UMNO and Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BESATU) from GRS and the state government. Pakatan Harapan, with whom Hajiji's GRS was allied at the federal level, was instead brought into the state government. In the lead-up to the election, GRS and Pakatan Harapan agreed to an electoral pact to avoid contesting against each other. Unhappy with the decision, GRS component parties STAR and SAPP left the coalition and contested the election together. Separately, UPKO exited Pakatan Harapan, citing differences in understanding, particularly over issues of state rights and autonomy, as well as frustrations surrounding the political leadership of Pakatan Harapan's Sabah chapter. The state election was held against a backdrop of increased nationalist or regionalist sentiment, encapsulated by the "Sabah for Sabahans" slogan, related to the state's fight for autonomy, including over the issue of revenue sharing. Other prominent issues included a mining license corruption scandal, which implicated members of the ruling GRS alliance as well as the federal government through a series of secret recordings made by businessman Albert Tei released over the course of a year. == Electoral system ==

Elections in Malaysia are conducted at the federal and state levels. Federal elections elect members of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of Parliament, while state elections in each of the 13 states elect members of their respective state legislative assembly. As Malaysia follows the Westminster system of government, the head of government (Prime Minister at the federal level and the Menteri Besar/Chief Ministers/Premier at the state level) is the person who commands the confidence of the majority of members in the respective legislature – this is normally the leader of the party or coalition with the majority of seats in the legislature. The Legislative Assembly consists of 73 members, known as Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), that are elected for five-year terms. Each MLA is elected from a single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post voting system; each constituency contains approximately an equal number of voters. If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the government, with its leader becoming the Chief Minister. In the event of a hung parliament, where no single party obtains the majority of seats, the government may still form through a coalition or a confidence and supply agreement with other parties. In practice, coalitions and alliances in Malaysia, and by extension, in Sabah, generally persist between elections, and member parties do not normally contest for the same seats. The voting age is currently 18. Elections are conducted by the Election Commission of Malaysia, which is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's Department. Malaysia practices automatic voter registration but does not practice compulsory voting. == Preparations ==

On 27 March 2024, State Chairman of Barisan Nasional (BN) and United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) of Sabah Bung Moktar Radin dismissed the possibility of Sabah BN to work with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition led by Chief Minister Hajiji Noor. Hajiji meanwhile, said that GRS is open to collaboration from other parties, but insists that the preference is working together with Pakatan Harapan (PH), who joined the Sabah government after BN withdrawal during the 2023 Sabah political crisis. Parti Warisan Sabah (WARISAN) also were interested in cooperating with GRS for the elections, but according to its president Shafie Apdal, its invitation to discuss such collaborations were turned down by GRS several times. Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional (PN) have announced its intention to contest all 73 state seats in its first foray into the state, the move which led to Sabah Progressive Party's (SAPP) exit from PN, as announced by party leader Yong Teck Lee in December 2024, as SAPP insists that only party which has origins in Sabah are allowed to contest the election. SAPP will contest the election under GRS, the local coalition which it is a component in parallel with PN since 2020. This is the first time PN contesting the election under its own banner, although its component party Sabah BERSATU have contested and won seats before, under PH (PKR) and GRS in the 2018 and 2020 state elections respectively. PAS and GERAKAN also have contested in Sabah before, with GERAKAN having won seats under BN banner. On 15 December 2024, Social Democratic Harmony Party (KDM), through its President Peter Anthony also confirmed that the party would contest the election as a party, without being in a coalition and working together with other parties, targeting 43 state seats. Anthony, who is also the Melalap MLA however, announced that he would not contest the election and defend the Melalap state seat in the election, in view of the pending appeal to his court case. After Peter loses his final appeal on 4 March 2025 and sentenced to jail immediately, the party moved on 7 March 2025 to appoint his daughter Priscella Peter as the acting President. On 15 January 2025, PN, through its Deputy Chairman Hamzah Zainudin launched the slogan 'Kasi Bagus Sabah' (Make Sabah Great Again in English) as part of its preparations for contesting the election. On 16 January 2025, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), through its President Wee Ka Siong, confirmed that the party would contest in the election. On 2 October 2025, the Homeland Solidarity Party (STAR) and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has left the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition. However 5 of STAR MLA decided to stay with GRS for the election, and were expelled from STAR. On 6 October 2025, Chief Minister Hajiji Noor officially announced the dissolution of the 16th Sabah State Legislative Assembly. United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) announced on 10 November 2025 that it has exited the PH coalition and will contest under its own banner, a day after its leader, Ewon Benedick resigned as federal cabinet minister. == Campaign slogans ==

The key dates are listed below. == Departing incumbents ==

The following members of the 16th Sabah State Legislative Assembly did not seek re-election. == Candidates ==

Statistics and Summary 596 candidates are nominated in this election. Nominations by parties and independent candidates. Seats contested by candidates. Candidates gender Candidates age range == Opinion polls ==

Opinion polls for the 2025 Sabah state election have been conducted by various organizations to gauge public support for political parties and coalitions. Below is a summary of recent polls. == Results ==

Summary By parliamentary constituency Seats that changed allegiance Post-election pendulum == Aftermath ==

Shortly after the election results were confirmed, Hajiji was sworn in as chief minister for a second term. While his coalition only won 29 seats in a hung assembly, he reportedly received the support of a number of other parties to form a government. These included Barisan Nasional, UPKO, STAR, Pakatan Harapan, KDM, as well as five independent assemblymen. The state cabinet unveiled following Hajiji's swearing in included members of, besides his own coalition, Barisan Nasional (UMNO), UPKO, and Pakatan Harapan. The inclusion of Barisan Nasional in government generated some controversy and pushback in some quarters, including Hajiji's own party's youth wing and a number of GRS assemblymen. Following its exclusion from government, STAR entered into opposition and reiterated its stance that the state government should only comprise local parties. Nevertheless, one of its two assemblymen was later appointed an assistant minister in a personal capacity. State opposition and Warisan leader Shafie Apdal criticised the employment of state machinery by the federal and state government as well as the "rampant money politics" during the election, pointing out that his party had nevertheless won the popular vote. Pakatan Harapan had a poor showing, winning only one seat. Coalition member Democratic Action Party (DAP) lost in all eight constituencies it contested, including six it had held going into the election. The six seats were won by Warisan, including three the DAP had won in 2013 and were considered strongholds. As the party mainly relies on the vote of urban and semi-urban Chinese, the swing against it has been described as a "Chinese tsunami". == Notes ==