13th general election: the glossary

backbencher - a Member of Parliament who does not hold governmental office

ballot - a piece of paper listing the candidates running for office. A ballot is used to cast a vote.

ballot box - a box in which votes are placed.

Barisan Nasional - a coalition of 13 political parties: UMNO, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP, PBB, SUPP, PBS, LDP, PBRS, UPKO, SPDP and PRS.

bicameral - consisting of two legislative branches. Malaysia has the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara.

by-election - an election held between general elections, usually because the sitting MP has died or resigned.

Cabinet - a group of ministers who lead the government, headed by the Prime Minister.

candidate - a person who is running for political office.

coalition - a collection of political parties. There are currently two: the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Dewan Rakyat - the lower house of Parliament. There are 222 members who are all elected. A representative of this house is called a Member of Parliament.

Dewan Negara - the upper house of Parliament. There are 70 members who are either indirectly elected appointed. A representative of this house is called a Senator.

Dewan Undangan Negeri - the legislative assembly of every state. The number of representatives vary according to the number of electorate state. Perlis has the smallest (15) and Sarawak the largest (71)

Dissolution of Parliament - when the Prime Minister calls

first past the post - the type of electoral method used in Malaysia. An election is won by the candidate with the most votes, not necessarily one with an absolute majority (50%+) of all votes cast.

incumbent - a person who is currently in office.

majority - more than half of the votes.

mandate - authority granted by a constituency to act as its representative. The winning party in a Malaysian general election has a mandate to govern for five years. The Prime Minister must call for fresh elections before the mandate ends.

Member of Parliament - an elected representative from the Dewan Rakyat.

opposition - any party not part of the ruling coalition.

Pakatan Rakyat - the opposition coalition of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), led by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Senator - an indirectly elected representative from the Dewan Negara. Backdoor senator is a colloquial term give to senators who are appointed for the express purpose of sitting in Cabinet although they do not hold a parliamentary seat.

two-thirds majority - a supermajority needed to clear through major legislation and changes made to the Federal Constitution. The 12th general election in 2008 was the first time Barisan Nasional had lost two-thirds majority.