2008 Perak state election
The 12th Perak state election was held on 8 March 2008. Polling took place in 59 constituencies throughout the State of Perak, with each electing a state assemblyman to the Perak State Legislative Assembly. The election was conducted by the Malaysian Election Commission. The state election was held concurrently with the 2008 Malaysian general election.
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59 seats to the Perak State Legislative Assembly 30 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The election proved to be a watershed in Perak's history, as the incumbent government from Barisan Nasional (BN) was handed an unprecedented and shocking defeat by the opposition, making the election the second time Perak's ruling party was voted out of power; the first was in 1969 when then Alliance Party failed to gain a majority against opposition parties. The informal coalition of Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) won 31 seats out of the 59 seats, gaining a simple majority in the Perak State Legislative Assembly.