much worse than they appear. An Associated Press analysis and calculations by independent analysts showed that the coalition's share of the popular vote is barely half -- about 51 percent of the 7.9 million votes cast. Nevertheless, the ruling National Front took 63 percent of the seats at stake in Saturday's vote -- 140 of 222 seats.
"As far as the parliamentary results are concerned, the ruling coalition should have done even more badly than what they achieved," said Mohammad Agus Yusoff, a political science professor at the National University of Malaysia. Take away the sparsely populated states of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo island -- where the National Front won all but two seats -- and the coalition's popular vote dips to 49.8 percent in peninsular Malaysia, the country's political and economic mainland.
Opposition groups have long blamed gerrymandering for such discrepancies between popular vote and seats in parliament, claiming the Election Commission distorts polling districts to favor the government.
For example, the administrative capital of Putrajaya, a government stronghold, sends one lawmaker to Parliament even though its voter population is about 5,000. But Seputeh constituency in neighboring Kuala Lumpur -- with more than 76,000 voters -- gets only one seat in Parliament, which the opposition Democratic Action Party won.
Authorities, however, deny gerrymandering occurs, saying constituencies are demarcated according to size.
The National Front's popular vote percentage has always been significantly lower than its share of parliament seats might indicate.
In the previous election in 2004, the National Front secured 91 percent of the 219 parliamentary seats with only 64 percent of the popular vote.
This year's results were the National Front's worst performance in the 51 years it has been in power. It has kept at least a two-thirds parliamentary majority in every election except in 1969, when it won 66 percent of the seats.
The opposition increased its share of parliamentary seats from 19 to 82 and also won control of five of Malaysia's 13 states, including Selangor and Penang, the two most industrialized states.
While the National Front retains a simple majority, the election results are expected to give the opposition a much greater voice in national politics, shaking the ruling coalition's decades-long grip on power.
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