BEIJING, October 15 2026, Barisan Nasional (BN) will defend all 21 seats it won in the previous Melaka state election while remaining open to negotiations over the seven seats held by other parties, said BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Ahmad Zahid stressed that BN would not relinquish any of its 21 seats to other political parties.
He said any seat negotiations would be limited to the seven constituencies not currently held by BN.
“The 21 seats we won are not up for sharing. If there are to be negotiations, they will only involve the other seven seats not held by BN,” he told a press conference here today.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO president, is currently on a five-day working visit to China.
He said he had given Melaka Chief Minister and state BN chairman Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh the authority to make the final decision on potential cooperation arrangements after nomination day.
In the 2021 Melaka state election, BN won 21 of the 28 seats, while Pakatan Harapan (PH) secured five and Perikatan Nasional (PN) won two.
The Election Commission has scheduled nomination day for Oct 31, early voting for Nov 10 and polling for Nov 14, following the dissolution of the Melaka State Legislative Assembly on Sept 23.
-BERNAMA
