Malaysia

Anwar regains seat

Article published on the 2008-08-26 Latest update 2008-08-27 06:43 TU

Anwar Ibrahim (2nd L), wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and leaders of other opposition parties
(Reuters)

The leader of the opposition wins back his seat as expected but also took almost twice as much of the poll as his opponent. His wife claims the vote is a vindication of the politician who is still fighting "sexual misconduct" allegations.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim won a convincing victory in a by-election on Tuesday in his home state of Penang. The seat had been held by his wife during Anwar's imprisonment in 1998 and subsequent exile from Malaysian political life.

"We have made a demand for change, for freedom and for justice" he said on arriving at the count centre where he was met by tens of thousands of supporters.

The final results gave almost 32,000 votes for Anwar against over 15,000 for the candidate from the Barisan National coalition. The United Malays National Organisation, leader of the coalition, conceded defeat and said it had been "the underdogs going into this race".

Despite the overturning, in 2004, of a sodomy conviction for which he had been imprisoned, he faces further legal battles against current accusations of sexual misconduct.

His wife Wan Azizah said the win showed that the people "reject the sodomy accusations thrown at my husband".

4,500 police had been deployed during balloting and hundreds of riot police were present at the count centre.