Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Parliament would be dissolved Monday, paving the way for general elections that are expected to be held in early November, the Associated Press reported. The elections come nine months before Parliament's term expires, following calls for early polls from Ismail's United Malays National Organization. With this announcement, the mandate will be returned to the people. The people's mandate is a "powerful antidote" to create a firm and stable government, Ismail said in a televised announcement. The Election Commission is expected to meet within the week to announce a date for the vote, which must be held within 60 days from Parliament's dissolution. Ismail Sabri called early elections after months of political in-fighting among politicians in the ruling coalition. The election was not due until September of next year, but Malaysia has been riven by political power struggles since the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) was toppled in May 2018 – the first time it had been out of power in more than 60 years – amid the multibillion-dollar scandal at 1MDB over which former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been jailed. Ismail Sabri is one of UMNO's vice presidents and has been ruling in a shaky alliance with other parties representing the ethnic Malay majority since August 2021. But Najib, and party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also on trial for corruption, remain influential and Zahid had been pushing for elections to be brought forward. Malaysia has had three prime ministers since the May 2018 elections. — Agencies
