Malaysia, May 10th, 2018: With more than 7.3 million Tweets related to the Malaysia Election #GE14 during the 1.5 week campaigning period (from 28 April to 9 May 2018), Twitter was the best place to see what’s happening in Malaysian politics and to talk about it. From breaking news to conversations with political parties, candidates, journalists, and citizens, Twitter was where people across Malaysia and the world tuned in to watch the #MalaysiaElection unfold live in real-time and buzz over hot election topics and developments.
Election Day discussions on Twitter yesterday overtook all other conversations in the country. Over 4.2 million Tweets related to #GE14 came through in the past 24 hours from across Malaysia and the world. Over the past 24 hours, #GE14 took the top spot trending in Malaysia with political topics, such as #MalaysiaMemilih, and #PakatanHarapan, occupying 7 of the top 10 trends in the country.
Throughout the election campaign, politicians and parties took to Twitter to communicate with Malaysian voters and with the rest of the world; the contests between candidates also fuelled conversations between people on Twitter.
Between the two political coalitions, Pakatan Harapan (@pakatanharapan_) garnered 51% of the share of voice on Twitter while Barisan Nasional (@barisanasional) took 49%.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) took 58% of the share of voice on Twitter against Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@najibrazak) who took 42%.
As developments progressed through Election Day up to the announcement of Pakatan Harapan’s election victory, journalists and voters in Malaysia buzzed on Twitter to share their latest thoughts and views with the rest of the world.
“Twitter is the best way to see what’s happening in Malaysia and to talk about it, and it was no different with the Malaysia Election where live Twitter updates helped Malaysian voters and everyone around the world follow and discuss the political developments in real-time,” said Philip Chua, Global Government and Elections Lead, Twitter Asia-Pacific. “It was tremendous to see how people across Malaysia and the world watched the rallies and Tweeted about the election over the past few months and on Election Day, all leading up to this historic moment for Malaysia.”
Twitter had earlier launched a special election emoji, featuring the Malaysian flag on a ballot box, to encourage Malaysians to vote and light up Twitter with their thoughts and views on the election.