FINAL COUNTDOWN: Najib dissolves Parliament, GE13 to be held within the next 60 days

UPDATE6 D-Day has come. Prime Minister Najib Razak has announced the dissolution of Malaysia's Parliament, paving the way for the 13th General election in which Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan rakyat coalition are rated as having a good chance of scoring an upset victory.

In a speech televised live to the nation, Najib called on all the state assemblies including those controlled by the Opposition to follow so that elections can be held simultaneously.

Malaysia's Election Commission, much criticized for bias towards Najib's Umno-BN coalition, has to fix the GE13 balloting date within the next 60 days. All eyes are now on when the EC will meet, the length of the campaigning period it will set, the date for nominations as well as for balloting.

The air of excitement is starting to escalate. GE fever has already spread around the nation, with Malaysian voters eager to make their choice. However, Najib has been the wet blanket, delaying time after time and changing his mind at the last moment despite countless news leaks.

Now, that he has finally made the move, Malaysians can look forward to GE13, which has been widely touted to be the 'Mother of all Battles' and the 'Dirtiest of All Elections', given the huge stakes involved for Najib's Umno-BN coalition, which has ruled the country since 1957.

'Final hour' for the BN?

Meanwhile, Opposition leaders greeted the news with calm.

Many were overjoyed at the prospect of finally coming to grips with the Umno-BN after an unofficial and protracted campaigning period of at least 2 years. Najib first signaled he was ready to call for an early election in 2011, when Sarawak state was about to hold its state polls.

"HURRAH,At long long last Parliament is dissolved d last day of BN's rule over Msia.Time to move towards VICTORY!" tweeted PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng.

"All the best to all aspiring candidates," tweeted Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah.

"Final hour of BN rule?! Adios, the era of darkness!," tweeted MP for Batu Tian Chua.

"All system GO! Lawan habis-habisan sehingga sampai ke Putrajaya. This is our best chance ever," tweeted Fuziah Salleh.

Met the King this morning

Since early morning, members of the mainstream media have camped outside the PM' Office in Putrajaya, having been tipped off by government sources.

According to the Star newspaper, Najib met the King for his weekly audience between 8.30 am and 9.12 am. The PM is now chairing the Cabinet's weekly meeting, which would be the last if Parliament is dissolved.

Negri Sembilan humble pie

There are now many 'theories' flying around town for Najib's 'sudden' resolve to dissolve Parliament.

Just a day ago, MCA president Chua Soi Lek told his party delegate that Najib had personally assured him there was "plenty of time" to finalize the candidates' list. Minister in the PM's Department Nazri Aziz too was blunt in stating that Parliament would be automatically dissolved at the end of April.

"I think (Deputy Prime Minister) Muhyiddin Yassin and (former premier) Mahathir Mohamad put their foot down after it was obvious that Umno members felt embarrassed by the Negri Sembilan automatic dissolution. This is the first time ever a state assembly has been allowed to expire and it shows a lack of confidence in calling for elections. No other PM or Umno president has ever been so weak before and the grassroots don't like it," an Umno watcher had told Malaysia Chronicle.

According to the Umno watcher, this was why Muhyiddin had made it a point to tell all the major press that GE13 would be held before the end of April. The statement from the DPM was seen as a signal to Najib that the party elders could not stomach eating the humble pie of the NS debacle and wanted immediate action.

Whatever the story and reasons behind Najib's protracted dissolution, Malaysians would be most relieved to have GE13 over and done with.

Najib could have actually delayed elections until June as the Election Commission has two months after Parliament's expiry at the end of April to conduct a nationwide ballot.

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