The state election comes on the back of a bruising loss for Anwar’s PH in Johor, in another test of the strength of his coalition government
3-MIN READ3-MINUshar DanielePublished: 9:30am, 1 Aug 2026Voters in Malaysia’s Negeri Sembilan headed to the polls on Saturday, the second election in the past month as political allies governing the country locked horns at state levels.Candidates from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition are going head-to-head with those of federal partner Barisan Nasional (BN), which trounced its rival in last month’s Johor race.Negeri Sembilan has traditionally been a stronghold for PH, which won 17 seats in 2023 while BN secured 14, allowing the two coalitions to form the state government with a combined 31-seat majority.
The opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) won the remaining five seats.
Nearly 890,000 voters are registered to cast their ballots at 401 polling centres statewide, with 36 state assembly members to be elected from a field of 103 candidates in tight three-way races.
Parties contesting have centred their campaigns on the economy, jobs and public service.
