The Economist has speculated that the 14th general election might be held next February after the Chinese New Year celebration.

Describing this as a “sweet spot” to hold the polls, the publication, however, predicted a “bitter outcome” for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's rivals.

The magazine stated that despite being implicated in embezzlement with regard to the 1MDB scandal, Najib, who has denied such allegations, appeared to be on track to retain his grip on power.

“Confronted with a strengthening opposition, Najib might choose to hold the election sooner, rather than later. But a vote in the next two months would probably coincide with seasonal flooding in rural areas, which might both suppress the vote and make the voters who do turn out, irritable.

“A short delay could avoid this. But the prime minister would not want to wait for long, given that (former opposition leader) Anwar (Ibrahim) might walk free as early as April,” it added.

Anwar is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for a sodomy conviction, which he claimed was fabricated by Najib's administration. The authorities have denied this.

According to The Economist, gerrymandering would be one of the factors to help Najib win the next election.

“At the last election, although the opposition won 51 percent of the vote, it only secured 40 percent of the 222 seats in parliament. The Election Commission, with government-appointed members, has proposed boundaries for the next contest which will see even more of those who usually vote for the opposition, such as the ethnic-Chinese, crammed into huge constituencies, many of them urban...