Kuala Lampur, Malaysia — Malaysians gave their secular Prime Minister a huge election victory on Sunday, smashing a fundamentalist Muslim party that had wanted to impose an Islamic state in the Southeast Asian country.
The results were seen as a personal endorsement for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose low-key style has proved a sharp contrasted to his combative predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad.
Many voters — especially the Chinese and Indian minorities — had feared Islamic fundamentalism was on the rise in Malaysia, a country that has detained scores of suspected terrorists in the past two years, some linked to al-Qaeda.
Mr. Abdullah's United Malays National Organization scored huge gains in two states in the rural north, the stronghold of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party.
Final results from the Election Commission showed Mr. Abdullah's party claimed Terengganu state with 28 seats to three for the Islamic party, with one being recounted.
The parties were neck-and-neck in Kelantan — held by the Islamic party since 1990 — with final results not expected until later Monday. UMNO went from two seats in Kelantan to at least 16.
Nationally, the National Front coalition won at least 167 seats in the 219-member federal Parliament, surpassing the 146 needed for a two-thirds majority. Final results were not due until later Monday.
Mr. Abdullah declared victory at his party's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, where he joined hands with his wife and deputy prime minister to lead a sing-along of the party's theme song before a cheering crowd.
"The people have accepted that the National Front is strong and capable enough to fulfill a mandate to develop our country and make it safe and peaceful for everyone," Mr. Abdullah said.
Stunned supporters of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party gathered at the home of its leader, Abdul Hadi Awang, who was visibly shaken and on the verge of tears.
Party officials were at a loss to explain the results. "It was all up to God," said Zaihan Mohamed Daud, a senior official. "But it doesn't matter. Our reward is in heaven."
In another surprising result, jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's party lost all five of its seats — disappearing as fast as it burst onto Malaysia's political scene five years ago, when Mr. Anwar was dumped as Mr. Mahathir's anointed successor.
Even Azizah Ismail, Anwar's wife, lost her parliamentary seat.
The result reflected how much support for Mr. Anwar has faded since he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on sodomy and corruption charges. He claims the charges were fabricated to prevent him challenging Mr. Mahathir, who denies it.
The only winner among opposition parties was the Democratic Action Party, a non-religious, multi-ethnic group that was largely sidelined during a campaign dominated by debate about the role of Islam. It won at least seven parliamentary seats.
Officials reported high turnout rates among the country's 10.3 million registered voters, who chose federal Parliament candidates and 505 assembly members in 12 of Malaysia's 13 states.
Voting went smoothly at most of about 7,300 polling centres, but problems with electoral rolls and ballot papers forced officials to extend voting for two hours in central Selangor state and abandon it altogether in one assembly district in eastern Pahang state.
Mr. Abdullah has sought support in ending years of Mahathir-era cronyism and promoting a moderate, progressive version of Islam.
