Chapter 23: Responding to Perceptions of Electoral Fraud: Followership, Emotions, and Collective Action from Malaysia’s 13th General Election

Malaysia’s 13th General Elections (GE13) is remembered among citizens as an event rife with controversies and allegations of electoral fraud. Central to public opinion and among voters was the belief that the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (National Front), resorted to fraudulent practices to garner an electoral victory. Although the opposing coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance¹), obtained the majority in terms of votes, it failed to form the majority government. The National Front secured 47.38% of all votes (5,237,699 votes) – its worst performance in the general election since its formation in 1973, while the People’s Alliance managed to secure 50.87% of votes (5,623,984 votes). Political analysts state that the outcome was inevitable, due to widespread gerrymandering of constituencies by the National Front, which resulted in votes from certain constituencies being worth comparatively more than others (Chin, 2013; Ostwald, 2013).