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 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 28 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 Malacca, generally persist between elections, and member parties do not normally contest for the same seats. == Political parties ==