National Front wins Malaysian polls, Anwar alleges fraud

Malaysia's ruling coalition retained its 56-year hold on power in hard-fought elections Sunday, but a bitter opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim refused to concede, claiming widespread election fraud.

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Najib Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister, and Muhyiddin Yassin, deputy prime minister, celebrate the Barisan Nasional coalition electoral victory

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National Front wins Malaysian polls, Anwar alleges fraud

Dan Martin (AFP)
 
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's ruling coalition retained its 56-year hold on power in hard-fought elections Sunday, but a bitter opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said the polls were tainted by fraud and refused to concede.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition led by Prime Minister Najib Razak ceded just two seats in the election to end at 133, maintaining a firm majority of the 222-member parliament.

But he became the first leader of the regime, which has controlled Malaysia since independence in 1957, to win with a minority of the popular vote.

Najib, 59, called for a spirit of "reconciliation" but rejected any challenge to the outcome of the polls, marked by record voter turnout and a fierce campaign that laid bare deep polarisation in the country.

Anwar Ibrahim, opposition leader, gets his finger marked with indelible ink before casting his vote at a polling station in Permatang Pauh, Penang AFP

"This is the decision of the people," he told cheering supporters in the capital Kuala Lumpur.

But Anwar was in no mood to concede after the hopes of his three-party Pakatan Rakyat (People's Pact) alliance were dashed by a tide of late results in favor of the ruling coalition that Anwar calls corrupt and oppressive.

"It is an election that we consider fraudulent and the EC (Election Commission) has failed," an exhausted-looking Anwar told reporters.

The opposition ended with 89 seats, an increase of 14, largely at the expense of non-aligned candidates.

Voters took to the Internet on Sunday in droves to accuse Barisan and the EC of trying to steal the election, as indelible ink that Najib touted as a guarantee against voter fraud was found to easily wash off.

Videos, pictures and first-hand accounts of purportedly foreign "voters" being confronted at polling centres by angry citizens also went viral online.

Anwar had earlier alleged a scheme to fly tens of thousands of "dubious" and possibly foreign voters to sway the outcome in key constituencies.

coalition – a temporary union of different political parties that agree to form a government together  พรรคร่วมรัฐบาล
(election) fraud – the crime of cheating in an election  การโกงการเลือกตั้ง
ruling – having control over a particular group, country, etc ซึ่งมีอำนาจ, ซึ่งปกครอง
retain – to keep รักษา
bitter – involving very angry feelings ความขมขื่น
opposition – of a political party that is not part of the government or a group which is against the government ฝ่ายค้าน  
tainted – spoiled by an unpleasant quality or feature เสื่อมเสีย,  มัวหมอง
refuse – to say you will not do something that someone has asked you to do ปฏิเสธ
concede – to admit that you have lost ยอมรับความพ่ายแพ้
cede – to allow someone to take something away from you ยกให้
maintain – to keep รักษา
firm – strong; definite หนักแน่น
majority – more than 50 percent of a group เสียงส่วนใหญ่
regime – a government that controls a country, often in a strict or unfair way รัฐบาล
independence – freedom from control by another country or organisation เอกราช, ความเป็นอิสระ
minority – involving less than half of a group เสียงส่วนน้อย
popular vote – the vote by the people of a country การลงคะแนนเสียงของประชาชน
reconciliation – the process of creating a new and friendly relationship again with someone you argued with or fought with การปรองดอง
reject – to not accept something ปฏิเสธ ไม่ยอมรับ
challenge – questioning whether something is true, accurate, or legal การคัดค้าน
outcome – a result ผล
turnout – the number or percentage of eligible voters who vote in an election จำนวนผู้ออกมาลงคะแนน
fierce – very strong รุนแรง, ดุเดือด
campaign – a planned series of activities designed to persuade voters to vote for a particular candidate or political party การรณรงค์หาสียง
lay bare – to reveal; to leave open for everyone to see ทำให้เห็นชัด
polarisation – separating or making people separate into two groups with completely opposite opinions การแบ่งเป็นฝ่าย
indelible – leaving a mark that cannot be removed  ที่ลบไม่ออก
cast a vote – to vote ลงคะแนน
polling station – the place where people vote in an election หน่วยเลือกตั้ง
mood – the way you feel at a particular time อารมณ์
pact – an agreement between two or more people or organisations in which they promise to do something ข้อสัญญา, ข้อตกลง
alliance – a coalition; an arrangement to work together พันธมิตร
dash hopes – to make it impossible for someone to do what they hoped to do ทำให้ไม่สมหวัง, ทำให้ผิดหวัง, ทำให้เสียกำลังใจ
tide – a large amount of something unpleasant that is increasing and is difficult to control แนวโน้ม, กระแส
oppressive – treating people in an unfair or cruel way ที่ปกครองอย่างกดขี่
exhausted – extremely tired เหน็ดเหนื่อย
at the expense of  – with loss or damage to somebody/something
non-aligned – independent; not supporting any side in a conflict อิสระ,  กลุ่มผู้ไม่ฝักใฝ่ฝ่ายใด
candidate – a person who is trying to be elected ผู้สมัครรับเลือกตั้ง
in droves – of a large group, especially of people, moving towards a place or doing something at the same time
tout – to try to persuade people that somebody/something is important or valuable by praising them/it พูดคุยอวด
guarantee – to promise someone that something will happen tรับประกัน, ค้ำประกัน
first-hand – gained by doing something yourself, obtained directly from someone who is involved in something โดยตรง, ได้รับโดยตรงด้วยตัวเอง
account – a spoken or written report about something that has happened  รายงานข่าว
purportedly – said by some people to be real or true, but not proved to be real or true ซึ่งอ้างว่า
confront – to face, meet or deal with a difficult person, group or situation เผชิญหน้า
citizen – someone who has the right to live permanently in a particular country พลเมือง
go viral – (of a video, photo, story, etc.) to spread across the internet very quickly (like a virus spreading a disease) as people share it with their friends or the news media reports on it   แพร่กระจายผ่านทางอินเทอร์เน็ตอย่างรวดเร็ว
allege – to say that something is true or that someone has done something wrong, even though this has not been proved  กล่าวหา
scheme – a plan for achieving something, especially something illegal or dishonest แผนการ (ที่มีท่าว่าจะผิดกฎหมาย)
dubious – thought not to be completely true or not able to be trusted อย่างสงสัย
sway – to influence or change  ทำให้โอนเอียง
key – very important ที่สำคัญ
constituency – a district that elects its own representative to parliament เขตเลือกตั้ง