Bangkok, November 21 Malaysia’s king announced this Monday that he was extending the 24-hour deadline given to Malaysian political powers to form a government after elections, held last Saturday, did not give the coalition an absolute majority for the first time in history. country.

In a statement, King Abdullah of Pahang extended until Tuesday 14:00 local time (6:00 GMT) the timeframe given to political formations to approve and propose a prime minister which he is to ratify later.

The Royal Palace’s decision comes after failed negotiations that the main political forces have defended since the election results became known, with the conservative Pakatan Harapan (Pakta Harapan) and Perikatan Nasional (Aliansi Nasional) opposition claiming the winner.

The final tally left Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) with 82 and 73 seats respectively, far short of the 112 needed to gain an absolute majority and form a government, while the formation of the current prime minister, Barisan Nasional (BN), suffered a historic defeat by gaining only 30 seats.

PH and PN leaders Anwar Ibrahim, a perennial contender for the post, and former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who ruled briefly from May 2020 to August 2021, have said they aspire to form a government.

Despite the dismal results, the BN leader, Zahid Hamidi, who met with Anwar today, appears to hold the keys to the government and has yet to choose either of the two winning coalitions.

The defeat of BN, which is led by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), confirms the defenestration of the formation that has ruled the country since its independence from Britain in 1963 until 2018, and which has lost influence due in large part to corruption scandals within its ranks.

Billionaire embezzlement fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has dug the group’s political grave and put former Prime Minister Najib Razak behind bars.

More than 900 candidates are contesting 220 seats (officially 222, although the two-person election was postponed due to the death of one of the candidates and flooding in both constituencies) in Malaysia’s nearest election, which threatens to prolong the political crisis.