Malaysia 1986 general election
What was the result of the 1986 general election in Malaysia?
United Malays National Organisation won 83 of 177 seats with 31.9% of the vote. 70.0% of registered voters cast a ballot.
Malaysia- Held:
- Final result
- Malaysian Election Corpus, read 8 November 2026
Which party won the most seats?
Results published by the Malaysian Election Corpus, read : United Malays National Organisation won 83 of 177 seats with 31.9% of the vote; 70.0% of registered voters cast a ballot, down 4.4 points on 1982.
- United Malays National Organisation 83 +13 seats 31.9% +0.1 points
- Democratic Action Party 24 +15 seats 21.1% +1.5 points
- Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party 1 −4 seats 15.5% +1.0 points
- Malaysian Chinese Association 17 −7 seats 12.7% −3.5 points
- Malaysian People's Movement Party 5 0 seats 3.2% −0.3 points
- Malaysian Indian Congress 6 +2 seats 2.3% +0.3 points
- Sarawak United Peoples' Party 4 −1 seat 2.0% 0.0 points
- Parti Bersatu Sabah 10 1.6%
- Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak 8 0 seats 1.0% +0.4 points
- Sarawak National Party 5 −1 seat 0.7% −0.3 points
- Malaysian Muslim People's Party 1 0.6%
- United Sabah National Organisation 5 +5 seats 0.6% −0.1 points
- Seats won
- Change on the previous election at the right
- Share of the vote
- Share at the previous election
- Change in points at the right
Changes are against the Malaysia 1982 general election, party by party.
- United Malays National Organisation83
- Democratic Action Party24
- Malaysian Chinese Association17
- Parti Bersatu Sabah10
- Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak8
- Malaysian Indian Congress6
- Malaysian People's Movement Party5
- Sarawak National Party5
- United Sabah National Organisation5
- Independents4
- Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak4
- Sarawak United Peoples' Party4
- Malaysian Muslim People's Party1
- Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party1
Key numbers
31.9%
Share of the vote won by United Malays National Organisation
United Malays National Organisation won 83 of 177 seats. A majority needs 89.
+15 seats
Seats gained by Democratic Action Party
The largest gain in seats compared with 1982. Sabah People's United Front lost 10 seats.
70.0%
Voter turnout
Down 4.4 points on 1982.
Seats and votes by party
| Party | Seats | ± seats | % | ± points | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Malays National Organisation | 83 | +13 | 31.9 | +0.1 | 1,474,069 |
| Democratic Action Party | 24 | +15 | 21.1 | +1.5 | 975,544 |
| Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party | 1 | −4 | 15.5 | +1.0 | 716,952 |
| Malaysian Chinese Association | 17 | −7 | 12.7 | −3.5 | 589,253 |
| Malaysian People's Movement Party | 5 | 0 | 3.2 | −0.3 | 149,644 |
| Independents | 4 | −4 | 3.2 | −0.6 | 146,903 |
| Malaysian Indian Congress | 6 | +2 | 2.3 | +0.3 | 104,706 |
| Sarawak United Peoples' Party | 4 | −1 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 93,018 |
| Parti Bersatu Sabah | 10 | 1.6 | 73,786 | ||
| Malaysian People's Socialist Party | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | +0.3 | 59,156 |
| Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak | 8 | 0 | 1.0 | +0.4 | 48,367 |
| Social Democratic Party | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | +1.0 | 45,340 |
The other parties and groups
| Party | Seats | ± seats | % | ± points | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarawak National Party | 5 | −1 | 0.7 | −0.3 | 34,221 |
| Malaysian Muslim People's Party | 1 | 0.6 | 29,943 | ||
| United Sabah National Organisation | 5 | +5 | 0.6 | −0.1 | 27,409 |
| Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak | 4 | 0.5 | 24,822 | ||
| Sabah People's United Front | 0 | −10 | 0.4 | −1.5 | 20,360 |
| Malaysian Nationalist Party | 0 | 0.2 | 10,228 | ||
| Sarawak United Labour Party | 0 | 0.0 | 967 | ||
| Parti Momogun Kebangsaan Sabah | 0 | 0.0 | 584 |
± is the change against the Malaysia 1982 general election, party by party.
Votes by party
- United Malays National Organisation 1,474,069
- Democratic Action Party 975,544
- Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party 716,952
- Malaysian Chinese Association 589,253
- Malaysian People's Movement Party 149,644
- Independents 146,903
- Malaysian Indian Congress 104,706
- Sarawak United Peoples' Party 93,018
- Parti Bersatu Sabah 73,786
- Malaysian People's Socialist Party 59,156
- Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak 48,367
- Social Democratic Party 45,340
- Sarawak National Party 34,221
- Malaysian Muslim People's Party 29,943
- United Sabah National Organisation 27,409
- Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak 24,822
- Sabah People's United Front 20,360
- Malaysian Nationalist Party 10,228
- Sarawak United Labour Party 967
- Parti Momogun Kebangsaan Sabah 584
Source: Malaysian Election Corpus (MECo) by Thevesh Thevananthan, which collects the Election Commission of Malaysia's reports of the 1986 federal election, open data under CC0. Shown in our own layout: a party's votes and seats are added up by us from the candidates' rows, and the shares, the turnout, the change on the election before and the indices are worked out by us.
A party's votes are the votes of its candidates added up, and its seats are the constituencies where its candidate won. A share is a party's votes over all valid votes in the constituencies where a vote was held. Candidates who stood without a party are one row, Independents.
6 of the 177 seats were won without a vote, because only one candidate stood. They count as seats for the winner's party and add no votes.
About the data: The corpus names the 1986 candidates with the id of a party formed in 2013; we count them with the United Sabah National Organisation of 1969 to 1990.
The turnout counts the valid and the rejected votes over the voters on the roll in the constituencies where a vote was held. A constituency won without a vote is left out.
How many people voted?
70.0% of the 6,791,567 registered voters cast a ballot (4,752,004 ballots), down 4.4 points on 1982. 4,625,272 of them were valid votes. The lowest turnout of this kind in our data, which begins in 1955.
How do the votes compare with the seats?
- United Malays National Organisation31.9% of votes46.9% of seats
- Democratic Action Party21.1% of votes13.6% of seats
- Malaysian Chinese Association12.7% of votes9.6% of seats
- Parti Bersatu Sabah1.6% of votes5.6% of seats
- Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak1.0% of votes4.5% of seats
- Malaysian Indian Congress2.3% of votes3.4% of seats
- Malaysian People's Movement Party3.2% of votes2.8% of seats
- Sarawak National Party0.7% of votes2.8% of seats
- United Sabah National Organisation0.6% of votes2.8% of seats
- Sarawak United Peoples' Party2.0% of votes2.3% of seats
- Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak0.5% of votes2.3% of seats
- Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party15.5% of votes0.6% of seats
The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 16.8 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); United Malays National Organisation led Democratic Action Party by 10.8 points of the vote.
Time and source Data as of