Malaysia 2008 general election
What was the result of the 2008 general election in Malaysia?
United Malays National Organisation won 79 of 222 seats with 30.0% of the vote. 75.6% 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 79 of 222 seats with 30.0% of the vote; 75.6% of registered voters cast a ballot, up 2.1 points on 2004.
- United Malays National Organisation 79 −30 seats 30.0% −5.6 points
- People's Justice Party 30 +29 seats 18.8% +10.0 points
- Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party 23 +16 seats 14.4% −0.9 points
- Democratic Action Party 28 +16 seats 14.1% +4.1 points
- Malaysian Chinese Association 15 −16 seats 10.6% −4.8 points
- Malaysian People's Movement Party 2 −8 seats 2.3% −1.4 points
- Malaysian Indian Congress 3 −6 seats 2.3% −0.9 points
- Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak 14 +3 seats 1.7% +0.5 points
- Sarawak United Peoples' Party 6 0 seats 1.5% 0.0 points
- United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation 4 0 seats 0.7% 0.0 points
- Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party 4 0 seats 0.7% −0.1 points
- Parti Bersatu Sabah 3 −1 seat 0.6% +0.2 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 2004 general election, party by party.
- United Malays National Organisation79
- People's Justice Party30
- Democratic Action Party28
- Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party23
- Malaysian Chinese Association15
- Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak14
- Sarawak People's Party6
- Sarawak United Peoples' Party6
- Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party4
- United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation4
- Malaysian Indian Congress3
- Parti Bersatu Sabah3
- Malaysian People's Movement Party2
- Sabah Progressive Party2
- Liberal Democratic Party1
- Socialist Party of Malaysia1
- United Sabah People's Party1
Key numbers
30.0%
Share of the vote won by United Malays National Organisation
United Malays National Organisation won 79 of 222 seats. A majority needs 112.
+29 seats
Seats gained by People's Justice Party
The largest gain in seats compared with 2004. United Malays National Organisation lost 30 seats.
75.6%
Voter turnout
Up 2.1 points on 2004.
Seats and votes by party
| Party | Seats | ± seats | % | ± points | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Malays National Organisation | 79 | −30 | 30.0 | −5.6 | 2,382,366 |
| People's Justice Party | 30 | +29 | 18.8 | +10.0 | 1,492,525 |
| Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party | 23 | +16 | 14.4 | −0.9 | 1,140,352 |
| Democratic Action Party | 28 | +16 | 14.1 | +4.1 | 1,118,025 |
| Malaysian Chinese Association | 15 | −16 | 10.6 | −4.8 | 839,158 |
| Malaysian People's Movement Party | 2 | −8 | 2.3 | −1.4 | 184,548 |
| Malaysian Indian Congress | 3 | −6 | 2.3 | −0.9 | 179,422 |
| Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak | 14 | +3 | 1.7 | +0.5 | 131,243 |
| Sarawak United Peoples' Party | 6 | 0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 119,264 |
| Independents | 0 | −1 | 0.8 | −0.7 | 65,399 |
| United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation | 4 | 0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 58,856 |
| Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party | 4 | 0 | 0.7 | −0.1 | 52,645 |
The other parties and groups
| Party | Seats | ± seats | % | ± points | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parti Bersatu Sabah | 3 | −1 | 0.6 | +0.2 | 44,525 |
| Sarawak People's Party | 6 | 0.4 | 33,410 | ||
| Sabah Progressive Party | 2 | 0 | 0.4 | +0.2 | 30,827 |
| Malaysian People's Party | 0 | 0.2 | 19,126 | ||
| People's Progressive Party | 0 | −1 | 0.2 | −0.1 | 16,800 |
| Socialist Party of Malaysia | 1 | +1 | 0.2 | +0.1 | 16,458 |
| Sarawak National Party | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | −0.3 | 8,615 |
| Liberal Democratic Party | 1 | +1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 8,297 |
| Federated Sabah People's Front | 0 | 0.0 | 942 | ||
| United Sabah People's Party | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | −0.1 | 0 |
± is the change against the Malaysia 2004 general election, party by party.
Votes by party
- United Malays National Organisation 2,382,366
- People's Justice Party 1,492,525
- Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party 1,140,352
- Democratic Action Party 1,118,025
- Malaysian Chinese Association 839,158
- Malaysian People's Movement Party 184,548
- Malaysian Indian Congress 179,422
- Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak 131,243
- Sarawak United Peoples' Party 119,264
- Independents 65,399
- United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation 58,856
- Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party 52,645
- Parti Bersatu Sabah 44,525
- Sarawak People's Party 33,410
- Sabah Progressive Party 30,827
- Malaysian People's Party 19,126
- People's Progressive Party 16,800
- Socialist Party of Malaysia 16,458
- Sarawak National Party 8,615
- Liberal Democratic Party 8,297
- Federated Sabah People's Front 942
- United Sabah People's Party 0
Source: Malaysian Election Corpus (MECo) by Thevesh Thevananthan, which collects the Election Commission of Malaysia's reports of the 2008 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.
8 of the 222 seats were won without a vote, because only one candidate stood. They count as seats for the winner's party and add no votes.
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?
75.6% of the 10,740,179 registered voters cast a ballot (8,120,049 ballots), up 2.1 points on 2004. 7,942,803 of them were valid votes. The highest turnout since 1964 in our data.
How do the votes compare with the seats?
- United Malays National Organisation30.0% of votes35.6% of seats
- People's Justice Party18.8% of votes13.5% of seats
- Democratic Action Party14.1% of votes12.6% of seats
- Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party14.4% of votes10.4% of seats
- Malaysian Chinese Association10.6% of votes6.8% of seats
- Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Sarawak1.7% of votes6.3% of seats
- Sarawak United Peoples' Party1.5% of votes2.7% of seats
- Sarawak People's Party0.4% of votes2.7% of seats
- United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation0.7% of votes1.8% of seats
- Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party0.7% of votes1.8% of seats
- Malaysian Indian Congress2.3% of votes1.4% of seats
- Parti Bersatu Sabah0.6% of votes1.4% of seats
The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 8.0 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 5.6 by votes and 5.5 by seats; United Malays National Organisation led People's Justice Party by 11.2 points of the vote.
Time and source Data as of