Zahid confirms 21-seat BN contest, rejects PN's call for two extra seats

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, chairman of BN, announced that the Umno-led coalition will contest the lion's share of seats—21—in the upcoming Melaka polls, leaving seven seats for the PN coalition as per a prior agreement. He rejected recent efforts by PN to secure two additional constituencies, emphasizing that one outlet distribution will be upheld. The statement follows earlier denials from PN that seat negotiations were settled, despite Zahid's claim that PAS and its allies had consented to the seven-seat arrangement.

PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man subsequently appealed for PN to receive two more seats. In the 2021 Melaka election, BN won 21 seats, Pakatan Harapan five, and PN two via Bersatu, with PAS later gaining a seat after a defection before the anti-hopping law took effect.