A woman votes during the general election in Alor Setar, Malaysia, on Wednesday. [Photo/Agencies] Polling stations closed in Malaysia on Wednesday at the end of a cliffhanger election that pitted Prime Minister Najib Razak's long-ruling coalition against a resurgent opposition led by 92-year-old former leader Mahathir Mohamad. The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition had met a fierce challenge brought by the opposition alliance - Pakatan Harapan, or the Alliance of Hope. The BN coalition had bet on generous handouts and the proven track record of the government to seek a third term, while Mahathir is calling for a change. Though most political analysts had favored the BN to win, the opposition seemed to have managed to raise concerns among voters on certain issues such as increasing living costs, adding uncertainties to the election. The Election Commission said that 69 percent of the roughly 15 million registered voters had cast their vote as of 3 pm, two hours before polls closed. Around 85 percent voted at the last election in 2013. Most results are expected before midnight but the count may spill into the early hours of Thursday. A simple majority of 112 parliament seats will produce a winner. On Wednesday, people swarmed to polling stations in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and around the country, which have been decorated with campaign posters and flags bearing the symbols of various political parties. At a polling station of Titiwangsa constituency in Kuala Lumpur, voter Ahmad Fizal said he hoped the candidate who wins could take the responsibility of the welfare of the area. I hope the candidate could help on the welfare of the people and the welfare of the region, no matter it's financial assistance, economic assistance or any other assistance, he said. Another voter, Syed Hasanuddin Bin Syed Abdullah, said he hoped the next government could do more to improve the society. We do tend to have a lot of issues, politically and in our social imbalance, we have ethnic diversity so I hope with this vote we will not have any differences between Malays, Chinese and Indians, that's a main thing, he said, referring to the three major ethnic groups in the country. The 11-day campaign period culminated on Tuesday. If BN were given a new mandate, we will make Malaysia even greater, said Najib, adding: BN is the party of the future, BN is the party for the future. The BN has won every election since the country's independence in 1957. The pre-election survey published by independent pollster Merdeka Center on Tuesday said BN was set to win 100 parliament seats nationwide and the opposition 83. With these numbers, neither camp would have the 112 seats required to rule and the result would hinge on 37 seats it said were too close to call. Xinhua and Reuters contributed to this story. wide rubber braceletsrainbow silicone wristbandspersonalized silicone braceletscartier rubber braceletfigured-wristband
File photo: Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn] A spokesman for the Chinese mainland said on Wednesday that the mainland has never interfered in elections in Taiwan and that it never will. He was responding to recent comments by island authorities and the United States. Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said, We have always stayed out of the elections in Taiwan. The DPP authorities are used to slandering the mainland and spreading rumors. Last week, the island's leader Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party said she believed the mainland had interfered in the nominating process for the Kuomintang party in the race for the island's top office. The accusation is nonsense and has ulterior motives behind it, Ma said on Wednesday. The DPP is creating cross-Straits conflict and is harming the interests of the Taiwan people, he added. Last week, a senior official of the United States, James Moriarty, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, said in a meeting that Beijing is exerting influence on the upcoming election in Taiwan. He said the US will continue to consult with Taiwan on security issues. In response, Ma said, It is irresponsible for some people in the US to repeat the groundless claims of the DPP authorities. The Taiwan question is China's internal affair. No external interference will be allowed. Taiwan's 2020 election campaign kicked off earlier this year as more politicians from the DPP and KMT announced they would run for the top office. Terry Gou, head of the world's largest electronics supplier, Foxconn, announced last week that he will run in Taiwan's 2020 leadership election. Guo criticized Tsai via social media last week for her administration's hostile policy toward the mainland, saying that the key to Taiwan's participation in regional economic cooperation lies in the mainland. Another potential leadership candidate from the KMT, Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu, who gained popularity in the mayoral election last year, said on Tuesday that he is not going to participate in the KMT's primary election. During his first visit to the mainland at the end of March, trade deals worth more than 1 billion yuan ($149 million) were signed, selling the city's agricultural and fishery products to mainland cities. silicone-wristbandsrubber wristbands custom cheapcartier rubber braceletrubber wristbands ebaypurple silicone bracelets<%2fcenter>
