Melaka Election: Harapan’s Adly Says Young Voters Will Back Integrity-Focused Leadership

MELAKA, November 13, 2026 – Pakatan Harapan (PH) Melaka chairman Adly Zahari says he is confident young voters will back the coalition’s candidates when Melaka goes to the polls on Saturday (November 14) in the 16th state election.

Speaking at a press conference at PH’s main operations room in Bukit Baru on Friday, Adly said the aspirations of younger voters were in line with what he described as the coalition’s push for leadership built on integrity, Bernama reported.

He said issues of transparency, integrity and good governance mattered a great deal to young people in the state, and that leadership centred on those issues would therefore be their choice. “We hope young voters can see that this decision is about their future,” he said.

Adly added that he believed young Melaka voters would pick their representatives on the basis of trustworthiness rather than sentiment. He also said PH appreciated the commitment of Melaka voters living away from the state, including some returning from as far as New Zealand and France, to come home to vote, which he said showed their love for Melaka.

The remarks set out PH’s own expectations on the eve of polling. Rival coalitions had not responded to his comments on the youth vote in the reports available on Friday, and the outcome will be decided by voters at the ballot box.

Earlier on Friday, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ab Rauf Yusoh, who is Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate for the Tanjung Bidara seat, said he left the decision entirely to voters and urged them to turn out. He reminded voters to bring their identity cards and to vote early, as rain was expected in the afternoon. Asked about the campaign, Ab Rauf said the two weeks had not been easy, though not as difficult as before, and that his side had not taken lightly the role played by those working alongside it to win the people’s confidence, according to Bernama.

The 14-day campaign period ends at 11.59pm on Friday. The Election Commission (EC) has said 675,166 ordinary voters are eligible to cast their ballots on Saturday to fill 28 state assembly seats, with 240 polling centres and 1,213 polling streams open from 8am to 6pm.

In total, 687,697 registered voters are eligible in this election, including 12,531 military personnel, police officers and their spouses who voted early on Tuesday. Bernama reported that early voting at 31 polling centres recorded a physical turnout of 9,417, or 94.96 per cent of 9,917 voters, while another 2,614 voted by post. A total of 79 candidates from various parties, along with independents, are contesting the 28 seats following nomination on October 31. According to Bernama, PH is fielding the most candidates with 24, followed by BN with 23, Parti Bersama Malaysia with 16, Bersatu with seven, Perikatan Nasional (PN) with five, Parti Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia with one, and three independent candidates.

The election follows the dissolution of the 15th Melaka State Legislative Assembly on September 23 with the consent of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Tun Mohd Ali Rustam. In the previous state election on November 20, 2021, BN won 21 of the 28 seats, PH won five and PN two.

Source : Bernama

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