The 16th Johor State Election

Last updated: July 11, 2026

What You Need to Know

The 16th Johor State Election was held on July 11, 2026, following the dissolution of the 15th Johor State Legislative Assembly on June 1, 2026.

The assembly has 56 seats, with 2,727,926 voters eligible to cast their ballots in the 2026 election. The figure is based on the latest electoral roll up to the Supplementary Electoral Roll for April 2026.

Election Commission (EC) chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun announced on June 12 that the EC would appoint 42,971 personnel for the Johor state election. The election will involve 1,076 ordinary polling centres with 4,889 polling streams.

On nomination day on June 27, the EC confirmed 172 candidates for the election. No nominations were rejected.

On June 29, the EC issued 24,677 postal ballot papers for the election.

EC secretary Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus said the postal ballots comprised 23,288 under Form 1A, involving election officials, EC members and officers, police and armed forces personnel, and media practitioners.

Another 1,044 postal ballots were issued under Form 1B for Malaysian citizens residing overseas, while 345 were issued under Form 1C for agencies and organisations.

The 14-day campaign period ran from June 27 until 11.59pm on July 10.

Early voting took place on July 7, while polling day was held on July 11.

Previously in Johor: The 2022 State Elections

At the time of the Johor State Legislative Assembly’s dissolution on June 1, Barisan Nasional (BN) held 40 of the 56 seats. This was followed by Pakatan Harapan (PH) with 12 seats, Perikatan Nasional (PN) with three, and the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) with one.

The result gave BN a two-thirds majority in the state assembly.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, who is currently the Johor BN chairman, was sworn in as the state’s 19th Menteri Besar on March 15, 2022.

Johor 2026 Election Voter Statistics

Of the 2,727,926 registered voters, 2,703,175 are ordinary voters, while 56,655 are registered as persons with disabilities (OKU).

This year, 24,751 voters were eligible for early voting, comprising 12,710 police personnel and their spouses, and 12,041 military personnel and their spouses. They voted at 62 early voting centres across Johor.

The state constituency of N.49 Kota Iskandar had the largest number of registered voters, with 132,579 people. It was followed by N.41 Puteri Wangsa (128,723), N.40 Tiram (117,496), N.43 Permas (113,963), and N.46 Perling (109,992).

The constituency with the smallest electorate was N.05 Tenang, with 22,616 registered voters.

As of the latest electoral roll, Johor had 1,364,763 eligible male voters, or 50.03 percent, and 1,363,163 eligible female voters, or 49.97 percent. The gender split was almost even, with only 1,600 more male voters than female voters statewide.

N.39 Tanjung Surat had the highest share of male voters within its electorate, at 53.54 percent, while female voters made up 46.46 percent.

By contrast, N.13 Simpang Jeram and N.17 Semerah had the highest share of female voters within their electorates, at 51.05 percent each. Male voters made up 48.95 percent in both seats.

Female voters outnumbered male voters in 31 of Johor’s 56 constituencies. They are:

N.03 Pemanis

N.04 Kemelah

N.07 Bukit Kepong

N.08 Bukit Pasir

N.09 Gambir

N.10 Tangkak

N.11 Serom

N.12 Bentayan

N.13 Simpang Jeram

N.15 Maharani

N.16 Sungai Balang

N.17 Semerah

N.18 Sri Medan

N.20 Semarang

N.21 Parit Yaani

N.22 Parit Raja

N.23 Penggaram

N.25 Rengit

N.26 Machap

N.28 Mengkibol

N.31 Kahang

N.32 Endau

N.34 Panti

N.36 Sedili

N.37 Johor Lama

N.38 Penawar

N.44 Larkin

N.47 Kempas

N.50 Bukit Permai

N.53 Benut

N.54 Pulai Sebatang

N.03 Pemanis

N.04 Kemelah

N.07 Bukit Kepong

N.08 Bukit Pasir

N.09 Gambir

N.10 Tangkak

N.11 Serom

N.12 Bentayan

N.13 Simpang Jeram

N.15 Maharani

N.16 Sungai Balang

N.17 Semerah

N.18 Sri Medan

N.20 Semarang

N.21 Parit Yaani

N.22 Parit Raja

N.23 Penggaram

N.25 Rengit

N.26 Machap

N.28 Mengkibol

N.31 Kahang

N.32 Endau

N.34 Panti

N.36 Sedili

N.37 Johor Lama

N.38 Penawar

N.44 Larkin

N.47 Kempas

N.50 Bukit Permai

N.53 Benut

N.54 Pulai Sebatang

N.03 Pemanis

N.04 Kemelah

N.07 Bukit Kepong

N.08 Bukit Pasir

N.09 Gambir

N.10 Tangkak

N.11 Serom

N.12 Bentayan

N.13 Simpang Jeram

N.15 Maharani

N.16 Sungai Balang

N.17 Semerah

N.18 Sri Medan

N.20 Semarang

N.21 Parit Yaani

N.22 Parit Raja

N.23 Penggaram

N.25 Rengit

N.26 Machap

N.28 Mengkibol

N.31 Kahang

N.32 Endau

N.34 Panti

N.36 Sedili

N.37 Johor Lama

N.38 Penawar

N.44 Larkin

N.47 Kempas

N.50 Bukit Permai

N.53 Benut

N.54 Pulai Sebatang

In terms of age, the largest group of voters in Johor was the 30 to 39 age bracket, with 587,888 people. This was followed by voters aged 21 to 29 (544,657), 40 to 49 (492,922), 50 to 59 (393,780), 60 to 69 (308,313), 70 to 79 (172,402), and 18 to 20 (165,386).

The smallest groups are voters aged 80 to 89 (50,441) and those aged 90 and above (12,137).
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The age profile also differed from seat to seat. The percentages below show how large each age group is within a constituency’s own electorate.

N.41 Puteri Wangsa had the highest share of voters aged 18 to 20, at 9.2 percent, while N.12 Bentayan had the lowest, at 3.8 percent.

For voters aged 21 to 29, N.40 Tiram recorded the highest share, at 26.65 percent, while N.45 Stulang had the lowest, at 12.73 percent.

Among voters aged 30 to 39, N.33 Tenggaroh had the highest share, at 26.74 percent, while N.45 Stulang had the lowest, at 17.38 percent.

For the 40 to 49 age group, N.38 Penawar recorded the highest share, at 24.13 percent, while N.22 Parit Raja had the lowest, at 15.79 percent.

N.48 Skudai had the highest share of voters aged 50 to 59, at 16.31 percent, while N.33 Tenggaroh had the lowest, at 8.51 percent.

For voters aged 60 to 69, N.12 Bentayan recorded the highest share, at 16.27 percent, while N.38 Penawar had the lowest, at 6 percent.

Among voters aged 70 to 79, N.45 Stulang had the highest share, at 11.33 percent. N.40 Tiram and N.49 Kota Iskandar had the lowest, at 3.16 percent each.

N.12 Bentayan had the highest share of voters aged 80 to 89, at 4.03 percent, while N.43 Permas had the lowest, at 0.58 percent.

For voters aged 90 and above, N.12 Bentayan recorded the highest share, at 1.03 percent, while N.38 Penawar had the lowest, at 0.07 percent.
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The ethnic make-up of voters also varied from seat to seat. The percentages below show how large each group is within each constituency’s electorate.

N.38 Penawar had the highest share of Malay voters, at 97.28 percent, while N.12 Bentayan had the highest share of Chinese voters, at 69.92 percent.

N.06 Bekok recorded the highest share of Indian voters, at 18.75 percent.

N.42 Johor Jaya had the highest share of Bumiputera Sabah voters, at 4.56 percent, while N.43 Permas had the highest share of Bumiputera Sarawak voters, at 4.42 percent.

N.32 Endau had the highest share of Orang Asli voters, at 5.28 percent, while N.42 Johor Jaya also recorded the highest share of voters categorised as Others, at 3.15 percent.
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Who is Contesting in the 16th Johor State Election?

The 2026 election saw 172 candidates contest Johor’s 56 state seats, down from 239 candidates in the 2022 state election.

BN and PH were the only coalitions that contested for all 56 seats this year. Under BN, UMNO fielded 37 candidates, MCA 15 and MIC four. Under PH, PKR nominated 20 candidates, Amanah 19 and DAP 17.

The PN coalition contested 33 seats, with Bersatu fielding 16 candidates, PAS 11, the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP) five, and Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) one.

Outside the three main coalitions, Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) contested 15 seats, MUDA four and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) one.

Parti Orang Asli Malaysia (ASLI) made its electoral debut in this election and fielded one candidate, Jati Awang, in the N.32 Endau seat.

Six Independents also contested.

The election saw 14 straight fights, 27 three-cornered contests, 12 four-cornered contests and three five-cornered contests.

Of the 172 candidates, 138 were men and 34 were women.

The number of female candidates in this year’s election was lower than in the 2022 state election, when 37 women contested.

PH fielded the most female candidates, with 12, while BN fielded the most male candidates, with 46.

By age, candidates aged 40 to 49 made up the largest group, with 50 candidates. This was followed by those aged 50 to 59 (48), 30 to 39 (38), and 60 and above (27).

Candidates aged 21 to 29 made up the smallest group, with nine candidates.

The youngest candidate in this election was Danish Hossman Abd Rahman, 23, who contested for PH in N.37 Johor Lama. The oldest candidate was Lim Chin Eng, 73, who was fielded by PN in N.45 Stulang.

By comparison, the youngest candidates in the 2022 Johor state election were Muhammad Airel Zabridin of Pejuang in N.10 Tangkak and BN’s Kelly Chye Pei Yee in N.28 Mengkibol, both aged 26. The oldest candidate in that election was PN’s Tosrin Jarvanthi, who contested in N.50 Bukit Permai at the age of 71.

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Early Voter Turnout

Early voting for the Johor 2026 state election began at 8am on July 7, 2026.

This year, 24,751 voters are eligible for early voting, comprising 12,710 police personnel and their spouses, and 12,041 military personnel and their spouses.

Voting took place at 62 early voting centres across Johor.

In-person early voting on July 7 involved 20,607 voters, comprising 12,063 police personnel and their spouses, and 8,544 military personnel and their spouses. Another 4,144 early voters voted by post, comprising 647 police voters and 3,497 military voters.

The early polling centres closed in stages, with 29 closing at noon, five at 2pm, and the remaining 28 at 5pm.

The EC later said early voter turnout stood at 94.49 percent, with 19,471 out of 20,607 in-person early voters casting their ballots.

This comprised 11,511 out of 12,063 police early voters and 7,960 out of 8,544 military early voters.

The early ballot boxes were stored at police stations until vote counting began at 5pm on polling day.

Polling Day

As of 5pm, voter turnout stood at 67.44 percent, with 1,809,185 out of 2,682,642 voters having cast their ballots across 1,076 polling centres and 4,889 voting streams.

This was higher than the 53.13 percent recorded at the same time during the 2022 Johor state election, when 1,367,909 out of 2,574,835 voters had cast their ballots.

BN won 48 of the 56 seats it contested, securing a two-thirds majority in the State Legislative Assembly.

The coalition retained all 40 seats it won in the 2022 state election. It also flipped eight seats in 2026 – five from PH (N.02 Jementah, N.10 Tangkak, N.42 Johor Jaya, N.46 Perling and N.51 Bukit Batu) and three from PN (N.07 Bukit Kepong, N.15 Maharani and N.32 Endau).

PH won eight of the 56 seats it contested. It retained seven seats won in the 2022 state election but lost five others to BN.

PH flipped one seat, N.41 Puteri Wangsa, from MUDA. PH candidate Dr Maszlee Malik won with 41,821 votes, defeating BN’s Teow Chia Ling (36,077 votes), MUDA’s Rashifa Aljunied (5,887 votes), Bersama’s Nicholas Paul Vincent (2,332 votes) and Independent candidate Wang Wee Seong (227 votes).

PN, Bersama, MUDA, PSM and ASLI failed to win any of the seats they contested. All six Independent candidates also lost.

The breakdown of the data is courtesy of Tindak Malaysia and the Election Commission.
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Report & Data Visualisation: Shaza Al Muzayen
Web Designer: Ummul Syuhaida Othman
Editor: Sakina Mohamed
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