2023 Kelantan state election

The 15th Kelantan state election were held on 12 August 2023 to elect the State Assembly members of the 15th Kelantan State Legislative Assembly, the legislature of the Malaysian state of Kelantan.

Kelantan is one of the states which did not dissolve simultaneously with Dewan Rakyat on 10 October 2022. It was decided by Perikatan Nasional on 13 October 2022.

The governing Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition led by Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) won 43 of 45 seats in a landslide, achieving a supermajority in the legislature, and continuing PAS' dominance in the state since 1990. The Barisan Nasional (BN) – Pakatan Harapan (PH) electoral pact won the remaining 2 seats, with BN and PH each winning 1 seat, and becoming the main opposition in the state assembly.

This was the first Kelantan state election not held concurrently with the national general election since 1978, when Kelantan held its election in March that year as opposed to the general election date in July.

Background
For the state elections, Perikatan Nasional has decided to use the PAS logo and name for all its candidate in Kelantan and Terengganu, regardless of the candidate party.

Constituencies
All 45 constituencies within Kelantan, which constitute the Kelantan State Legislative Assembly, were contested during the election.

Timeline
The key dates are listed below.

Retiring incumbent(s)
The following members of the 14th State Legislative Assembly did not contest this election.

Electoral candidates
Names in bold are the confirmed winners in the 2023 state election.

By parliamentary constituency
PN won 13 out of 14 parliamentary constituency by average percentages.

Aftermath
Prior to the state elections, reports suggesting Ahmad Yakob, two-term Menteri Besar, will not continue in the role if PN won the election. The reports were confirmed by Ahmad, who is the PAS state commissioner and MLA for Pasir Pekan, on 12 August.

Mohd. Nassuruddin Daud, elected MLA for Meranti, were sworn in as the new Menteri Besar of Kelantan on 15 March, replacing Ahmad. Along with Nassuruddin, MLA for Temangan Mohamed Fadzli Hassan were sworn in as Deputy Menteri Besar, with 9 other EXCO members also sworn in on the same date.