1986 Malaysian General Election
2–3 August 1986 · The Barisan Nasional decades · 177 seats, 89 for a majority
General elections were held in Malaysia on 2 and 3 August 1986. Voting took place in all 177 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament.
Cleanly counted but heavily tilted: severe malapportionment, government-controlled media and the Internal Security Act framed every contest of the Barisan Nasional decades.
Prime Minister before
Mahathir Mohamad
BN
Prime Minister (continued)
Mahathir Mohamad
BN
Largest force
BN
148 of 177 seats
Turnout
70.0%
The result
| Share of the Dewan Rakyat | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BN | Mahathir Mohamad | 148 | +16 | 2,649,238 | 57.3% | -3.3 | |
| DAP | Lim Kit Siang | 24 | +15 | 975,544 | 21.1% | +1.5 | |
| PAS | Yusof Rawa | 1 | -4 | 716,952 | 15.5% | +1.0 |
4 further seats went to parties and independents outside the main contenders listed above.