Malaysia's opposition alliance led by the country's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has won a majority in parliament, ending the 60‑year rule of the National Front.
The Election Commission said official results had the opposition so far winning 113 seats out of 222. The National Front, has so far won 79.
Dr Mahathir's stunning defeat of the ruling coalition means that at the age of 92, he will become the oldest elected leader in the world.
He emerged from retirement and joined the opposition after being angered by an epic corruption scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Dr Mahathir was the country's authoritarian leader for 22 years until 2003.
In a televised address, he said a representative of Malaysia's constitutional monarchy had contacted the opposition to acknowledge its victory, and that a prime minister would be sworn in within a day.
The election results marked the first time the National Front had been voted out of power in the six decades since Malaysia gained independence from Britain.
Malaysia's currency weakened in offshore trading on the election result, with the ringgit one‑month non‑deliverable forward falling 2.4 percent to 4.07 against the dollar.
Source: ABC News
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