1986 Sabah state election

The 1986 Sabah state election was held between Sunday, 4 May and Monday, 5 May 1986. The snap election was called by chief minister Pairin Kitingan in response to civil disturbances and political defections following the results of the 1985 state election.^[1]

1986 Sabah state election

← 1985 4–5 May 1986 1990 →
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All 48 seats in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly 25 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Joseph Pairin Kitingan Mustapha Harun Mohammad Noor Mansoor Party PBS USNO BERJAYA Alliance Barisan Nasional (federal) Leader since 1985 1961 Leader's seat Tambunan Not contesting Buang Sayang Last election 25 seats 16 seats 6 seats Seats won 34 12 1 Seat change 9 4 5   Fourth party   Leader Unknown Party SCCP Leader's seat Unknown Last election Not contesting Seats won 1 Seat change 1
Chief Minister before election Joseph Pairin Kitingan PBS Elected Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan Barisan Nasional, (PBS)

The election was won by Pairin's Parti Bersatu Sabah which kept all its seats and gained 9 more (4 from USNO, 4 from Berjaya and the only seat held by Pasok).^[2] Berjaya lost all 6 seats it held (4 to PBS, 1 to USNO and 1 to SCCP) but gained one new seat from USNO. USNO had a net loss of 4 seats (losing 4 to PBS and exchanging 1 with Berjaya).

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	United Sabah Party (PBS)	166,136	53.71	34	+9
	United Sabah National Organisation (Usno)	62,674	20.26	12	–4
	Sabah People's United Front (Berjaya)	54,124	17.50	1	–5
	Sabah Chinese Consolidated Party (SCCP)	7,602	2.46	1	New
	United Pasok Nunukragang National Organisation (Pasok)	1,615	0.52	0	0
	Sabah Chinese Party (SCP)	4,006	1.30	0	New
	Independents	13,149	4.25	0	0
Total		309,306	100.00	48	0
Valid votes		309,306	98.96
Invalid/blank votes		3,239	1.04
Total votes		312,545	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		423,097	73.87
Source: HLSC[3]

Aftermath

The SCCP candidate who has won in the election, quit his party and joined PBS 2 days after the election.^[4] This was the final state election SCCP participates, as the party were dissolved before the 1990 state election.

Pairin was sworn in as Chief Minister on the next day after the election results, together with the state EXCO members.^[5] Pairin also announces PBS have applied to join Barisan Nasional (BN) as component party on the same day.^[6] PBS were accepted as BN component party in June, as well as USNO, who were readmitted into BN having been expelled in 1984.^[7][8]

Berjaya later would pull out of BN before the 1986 Malaysian general election.^[9]

References

1. Suhaini Aznam (22 June 2008). "Is snap polls the answer?". The Star. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
2. Ravi Nambiar; Zainon Ahmad; Eddy Hiew (7 May 1986). "PBS wins by a landslide". news.google.com. New Straits Times via Google News. p. 1. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
3. "Malaysia - Pilihan Raya - Pilihan Raya Umum Sabah ( 1986 )". Archived from the original on 2009-10-03. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
4. "SCCP man officially joins PBS". news.google.com. New Straits Times via Google News. 9 May 1986. p. 2. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
5. Ravi Nambiar (8 May 1986). "Pairin sworn in as Chief Minister". news.google.com. New Straits Times via Google News. p. 1. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
6. "PBS re-applied to join BN even before the polls". news.google.com. New Straits Times via Google News. 8 May 1986. p. 1. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
7. Bernama; New Straits Times (7 June 1986). "Pairin gembira PBS diterima masuk Barisan". eresources.nlb.gov.sg (in Malay). Berita Harian (Singapura). Retrieved 2 August 2024.
8. Bernama (5 June 1986). "BN - PBS/USNO" (PDF). lib.perdana.org.my. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
9. Berita Harian Malaysia; Bernama (21 July 1986). "Berjaya keluar dari Barisan Nasional". eresources.nlb.gov.sg (in Malay). Berita Harian (Singapura). Retrieved 2 August 2024.