2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Background
After winning the season-opening Australian Grand Prix one week earlier, Lotus driver Kimi Räikkönen led the World Drivers' Championship with 25 points, ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel in second and third, with 18 and 15 points. Alonso's teammate Felipe Massa was fourth with 12 points, and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was fifth with ten points. Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with 30 points; Lotus and Ferrari followed with 26 and 23 points, respectively. Mercedes and Force India held fourth place, with ten points each.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Background
Vettel said that the Australian Grand Prix would be meaningless later in the year, and predicted that with the different conditions and tyres in Malaysia, he would outpace Ferrari and Lotus. His teammate, Mark Webber, explained that Red Bull required an improvement in car performance for the race: "As a team we weren't as strong as we thought we'd be. But that's Formula One – it can change very quickly. We've got a very, very hot track this week in Sepang. So let's see how we go for the next few races. It's the first marker in the sand." Hamilton said that Mercedes would bring what they learnt about team strategy from Melbourne to Sepang, and would have good results if his team then scored ten points.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Background
For the second consecutive race, reliability issues with the telemetry link between race control and the cars prompted the FIA to disable the system, stopping teams from informing drivers of an incident or being lapped, and the FIA could not disable DRS in inclement weather or a safety car. The stewards advised drivers to comply with DRS usage rules, and required teams to inform them when the system was disabled. If officials deployed the safety car, drivers were ordered to manually press a button on their steering wheel to slow their cars as soon as they noticed a warning board or an illuminated light. Drivers acquainted themselves with the revised procedures in a test held after the third practice session.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Background
Several teams made changes to their cars for the race. Sauber introduced a new C32 chassis for driver Nico Hülkenberg after a fuel-system fault prevented him from starting the Australian Grand Prix. Sauber modified the C32's engine cover to remove hot air from its engine and sidepods, and added a small vertical fin to improve airflow to the car's rear and diffuser's side channels. Red Bull installed extra cooling outlets on the centre of the RB9, to counter Malaysia's warm climate. Ferrari opened the exhausts on the F138 to improve the extraction of warm air from its sidepods. Mercedes changed the turning vanes and pillars under the F1 W04. Lotus introduced a new exhaust system on Räikkönen's E21 car and its endplate, main plane and revised upper flap, in addition to a revised diffuser with a gurney flap.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Practice
In accordance with the 2013 regulations, three practice sessions were held: two 90-minute sessions on Friday, and another 60-minute session on Saturday. The first practice session was held in hot, humid weather; no driver set a competitive lap time for 34 minutes. Several drivers remained in the pit lane to wait for better track conditions to record their quickest times in a ten-minute period of successive laps, before running a heavy fuel load. Webber's first timed lap (1 minute, 37.588 seconds) was followed by 1 minute, 37.354 seconds from his teammate Vettel.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Practice
Webber improved to a 1-minute, 36.395-second lap to go fastest. Räikkönen missed the first 55 minutes as Lotus replaced a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) battery which failed due to a sensor problem, but was second-fastest. Vettel, Alonso, Nico Rosberg of Mercedes, Adrian Sutil of Force India, Massa, Paul di Resta, Hamilton and Lotus driver Romain Grosjean were second to tenth. Sutil damaged his front wing on a kerb, and Sauber's Esteban Gutiérrez spun at turn 14.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Practice
The second session was also hot and humid; many teams used dry tyres early, due to rain clouds above the track. A heavy rain shower fell, preventing an improvement in lap times; some drivers drove on the wet track on the intermediate-compound tyres, to acclimatise themselves with the conditions if inclement weather returned later in the week. Räikkönen lapped fastest at 1 minute, 36.569 seconds, followed by Vettel, Massa and Alonso, Webber, Grosjean, Rosberg, Di Resta, Hamilton and Sutil. Some drivers went off the track during the session, due to wetness. Gutiérrez's in-car fire extinguisher activated after mounting the turn-12 kerb, and a subsequent exhaust-system fracture ended his session.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Practice
In the final session (also in hot, humid weather), most drivers used hard-compound tyres to see how they would behave during the race, then switched to medium-compound tyres when track grip improved. Räikkönen set a benchmark in the first ten minutes, which Rosberg and Sutil bettered. Rosberg and his teammate, Hamilton, fought for the fastest lap time until Vettel used the medium-compound tyres to lead with a 1 minute, 36.435-second lap with three minutes to go. Hamilton, Sutil, Webber, Räikkönen, Di Resta, McLaren's Jenson Button, Massa, Rosberg and Alonso were the ten fastest drivers. Near the end of the session, Hamilton's right-front tyre tore a tread after locking the wheel and flat-spotting it to the canvas. Part of the tyre detached on the backstraight, and damaged Hamilton's front wing.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Saturday afternoon's qualifying session was divided into three parts. The first session lasted 18 minutes, eliminating cars which finished the session 17th or below. The 107% rule was in effect, requiring drivers to reach a time within 107 per cent of the fastest lap to qualify. The second session lasted 15 minutes, eliminating cars that finished 11th to 16th. The final, ten-minute session determined pole position to tenth place. Drivers who progressed to the final session were not allowed to change tyres for the race's start, and used the tyres with which they set their fastest lap times.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Qualifying
A sudden downpour five minutes before the end of the second session wet the track from turns five to six, prompting the drivers to switch to intermediate-compound tyres during the session. Vettel used a single set of medium-compound tyres in the first and second sessions to prevent tyre overuse. He also used intermediate-compound tyres in the final minutes of the third session to take his second pole position of the season and the 38th of his career with a one-minute, 49.674-second lap. Massa started second for the first time since the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Qualifying
and was faster than his teammate, Alonso (in third), for the fourth race in a row. Hamilton used an older set of intermediate tyres in Mercedes' strategy to remain on the circuit, and qualified fourth. Webber took fifth on one set of intermediate tyres; a pit-wall miscommunication at the end of the final session allowed Hamilton past and stopped Webber improving.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Rosberg was fastest in the first session, but fell to sixth in the final session on a used set of intermediate tyres. Räikkönen took seventh on a new set of intermediate tyres. A slow pace put Button eighth, an oversteer in the corners left Sutil ninth, and McLaren's Sergio Pérez was tenth. Grosjean, 11th, drove onto the track too late. Hülkenberg, 12th, could not switch from a set of worn medium-compound tyres due to a loss of weather data. A car-balance adjustment put Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo 13th. The rain caught out Gutiérrez in 14th on dry tyres.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Qualifying
Di Resta aborted a timed lap due to the rain, prompting Force India to call him to the pit lane for a tyre change. He took 15th, rejoining the track when the rain fell and making two errors. Williams driver Pastor Maldonado, in 16th, set no lap time; he aborted when the rain began. Jean-Éric Vergne's Toro Rosso, 17th, failed to advance beyond the first session after a slower car obstructed him on his lap. Williams' Valtteri Bottas lapped 18th fastest due to poor grip from the medium-compound tyre. Marussia's Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton were 19th and 21st, separated by Charles Pic's Caterham, who had an understeer on his first lap that a pressure adjustment for his second did not remove. Giedo van der Garde, 22nd, was slowed by an oversteer on the medium-compound tyres.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Qualifying, Post-qualifying
After qualifying, the stewards imposed a three-place grid penalty on Räikkönen after concluding he blocked Rosberg between turns 12 and 15 in the third session. This moved Button to seventh, Sutil to eighth and Pérez to ninth.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Qualifying, Qualifying classification
The fastest lap in each of the three sessions is in bold.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
The 56-lap race was held during the afternoon on 24 March. Thunderstorms were forecast, and a 30-minute torrential downpour half an hour before the start made the track wet. The air temperature was 24 to 25 °C (75 to 77 °F), and the track temperature ranged from 27 to 33 °C (81 to 91 °F). 90,000 people were in attendance. Standing water caused light spray and impaired visibility, and all cars used intermediate tyres. Turn three was flooded, causing several drivers to aquaplane into a gravel trap before the race. Bottas damaged his front wing; after an assessment, the Williams team repaired it on the grid. Williams also changed Maldonado's engine the morning of the event due to piston damage in qualifying; Maldonado did not incur a penalty because he switched to another of his eight allocated engines for 2013.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
When the five red lights went out to begin the race, Vettel maintained his lead into the first corner. Massa and Alonso veered towards each other behind him, with Hamilton on the left and Webber on the right. Alonso entered turn two in second position, and was surprised by Vettel's perceived early braking. He hit the rear of Vettel's car, which put him wide and damaged his front wing. Webber overtook both Mercedes to move into third place, and battled Alonso for second on the first lap.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
The left front section of Alonso's front wing scraped the tarmac surface; Ferrari kept him on the circuit, anticipating that it would not detach. Further down the field, Massa was blocked by other cars and fell from second to sixth. Hülkenberg made a fast start to advance from 12th to ninth, as Pérez moved up from tenth to eighth.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
At the start of lap two, Webber drew alongside Alonso, whose front wing detached and folded under his Ferrari at the end of the main straight, sending him into the turn-one gravel trap. Track stewards refused Alonso's request to extricate his car from the gravel, and he was the race's first retirement. DRS was enabled on the third lap. Rosberg passed Button for fourth on the third lap; Räikkönen tried to pass Ricciardo for tenth at turn one on the next lap, but ran wide and dropped to 12th position.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
Hülkenberg passed Pérez on the inside for seventh at turn one, and tried unsuccessfully to regain the position on the outside at turn two on lap five. As lap times fell, Vettel made a pit stop from the lead at the end lap four to switch to medium-compound tyres. He struggled for grip on a damp area, falling behind Pérez, Sutil and Grosjean on lap six, until he drove onto a dry section and overtook Grosjean; Sutil blocked his attempt to pass at turn 13. On lap seven, Vettel overtook Pérez for seventh place.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
Webber led laps five to seven, because Red Bull advised him that turn three was too wet for dry tyres and he set a series of fast lap times. His race engineer, Simon Rennie, told him to enter the pit lane on the seventh lap. Hamilton made a pit stop on lap eight. He mistakenly drove into the McLaren pit stall, and the team waved him through to prepare for Button and Pérez's arrival. On that lap, Toro Rosso released Vergne into the path of Pic and they made contact; both drivers had their front wings replaced.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
The stewards ruled that Vergne was released unsafely into Pic's path and fined the Toro Rosso team $10,000, but Vergne did not incur a post-race time penalty. Rosberg led the eighth lap, until his first stop. After the pit stops, Webber led teammate Vettel and Hamilton. On lap nine, Grosjean passed Ricciardo for ninth position. His teammate, Räikkönen, unsuccessfully attempted to do the same at turn nine. He tried again, and overtook Ricciardo with DRS on the hairpin turn. Two laps later, Grosjean used DRS to pass Pérez for eighth position. On the 12th lap, Räikkönen unsuccessfully tried to pass Pérez for ninth into turn one.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
Maldonado, in 12th position, ran on a damp white line at turn 11 on lap 13; he drove across the gravel trap, removing half of his car's front wing. Maldonado recovered to the pit lane without external aid for a replacement front wing, and rejoined the race in 21st place. By lap 15 Webber led teammate Vettel by 2.2 seconds, and Vettel was the same distance ahead of Hamilton in third.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
Webber began the second round of pit stops when he entered the pit lane to switch to medium-compound tyres at the end of that lap; he returned to the track in fifth, behind Button. Vettel took the lead and was instructed by his race engineer, Guillaume Rocquelin, to speed up to retain the position. He and Rosberg made their second pit stops at the end of lap 22. Vettel and Rosberg returned to the track in third and fourth place, and Webber returned to the lead.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
A recurring captive wheel-nut system fault, possibly caused by a high temperature on the left front wheel, caused Sutil to lose 84 seconds in a pit stop, and dropped him to 20th. Soon thereafter the Force India team called Sutil and his teammate, Di Resta, into retirement because they could not fix the problem before the end of the race and did not want to damage their cars.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
By the end of lap 25, Vettel was less than a second behind teammate Webber and could use DRS to attempt a pass for the lead. The gap to Vettel and Webber was lowered to four-tenths of a second at the start of the next lap, as Hamilton gained on them. Rocquelin told Vettel by radio on that lap to conserve his tyres in high-speed corners, because he drew too close to Webber and was affected by the aerodynamic turbulence of airflow over his teammate's car.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
Webber also slowed to preserve his tyres so he could reach the third series of pit stops, and Vettel told the Red Bull team by radio to have his teammate relinquish the lead to him because he thought he was the faster driver. On the 29th lap, Webber went faster by three-tenths of a second and pulled away from Vettel.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
The third pit-stop phase began on the 30th lap. Hamliton entered the lane to switch to hard-compound tyres, and rejoined the track in fifth place. Webber and Rosberg made their stops on the next lap for hard-compound tyres, and emerged in third and fifth. Vettel led the 32nd lap; he made his stop and returned in fourth position, behind Hamilton and Webber. Button led laps 33 and 34. Webber unsuccessfully challenged Button for first place near the final corner; he then used DRS and out-braked Button to reclaim the lead before turn one of lap 35.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
On the 36th lap, Button had a problematic pit stop; a fault in the McLaren micro-switch pit-stop lighting system erroneously shone a green light for 120 milliseconds, and Button was released from his pit box before a mechanic could install his right-front wheel. Mechanics pushed Button's car back to the pit stall for the job to be completed. Button lost two minutes in the pit lane, and emerged one lap behind in 14th position. At the front of the field, Hamilton was asked to conserve fuel when Mercedes was unable to adapt to the speed of the faster Red Bull cars; Vettel used DRS into turn one, passing Hamilton for second place on lap 39.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
Vettel began to draw clear of Hamilton. On lap 41, Hülkenberg locked his tyres in the final corner and Räikkönen overtook him on the inside for eighth place at turns one and two. Hamilton began the final sequence of pit stops at the end of the lap, and was followed by Rosberg and the Red Bull duo of Webber and Vettel. Webber rejoined the race on an old set of hard-compound tyres, holding off his teammate Vettel through turns one to four to retain the lead.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
Red Bull invoked team orders on Vettel and Webber, with the code "Multi-Map 21", telling both drivers to lower engine performance and remain in first and second position (without challenging each other) to conserve their tyres. At the end of the lap, Rosberg used DRS to pass teammate Hamilton at the hairpin; Hamilton retook the position before turn one.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
On the 46th lap, Vettel, avenging Webber for forcing him toward the pit wall at the start of the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix causing him to be hit by Williams driver Bruno Senna, turned right on the first straight and used DRS and KERS. Webber put him towards the pit-lane barrier, with their wheels almost touching at about 180 mph (290 km/h). Webber used the outside to keep Vettel behind at turn two, placing himself away from the racing line, and Vettel accelerated faster out of turn three.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
Vettel turned left cresting a hill into turn four, overtaking Webber with better traction for the lead out of the corner. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner reprimanded Vettel by radio: "This is silly, Seb. Come on." At the start of lap 47, Webber tried to pass Vettel into turn one; Vettel placed Webber on the edge of the track to prevent his teammate from driving onto the outside at turn two. On that lap, Maldonado retired with a KERS failure.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
Massa made a pit stop on the 47th lap to switch to medium-compound tyres when he was unable to pass Grosjean, and emerged in eighth position. Räikkönen passed Pérez on the inside on the hairpin for sixth place on lap 49. Massa then passed Pérez on the first turn for seventh position; Pérez had used DRS to challenge Räikkönen, who was then passed by Massa for sixth.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
Rosberg begged Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn to let him pass teammate Hamilton on lap 50; Brawn refused, wanting to ensure that both cars finished the race and trying to control Hamilton's pace to improve his position in the World Drivers' Championship. Two laps later, Ricciardo retired with a faulty exhaust system. Massa then retook fifth from Grosjean on the straight linking the hairpin. On the 55th lap, Button retired with vibration caused by a lock in his left front suspension. That lap, Pérez made a pit stop for hard-compound tyres after Hülkenberg passed him on the inside for eighth place at the fourth corner. He retained ninth place, ahead of Vergne in tenth.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race
On the final lap, Brawn radioed Hamilton to conserve fuel to finish the race as Rosberg held position. Vettel had his first victory of the season, his third in Malaysia (after winning in 2010 and 2011) and the 27th of his career, which tied him with three-time world champion Jackie Stewart. Webber finished 4.298 seconds later behind in second, and Hamilton had his first podium finish with Mercedes in third. Rosberg and Massa were fourth and fifth, and Grosjean and Räikkönen were sixth and seventh. Hülkenberg took eighth, Sauber's first points of the season. Pérez took ninth, and set the race's fastest lap on the final lap: 1 minute, 39.199 seconds. Vergne was tenth, and the final finishers were Bottas, Gutiérrez, Bianchi, Pic, Van Der Garde, Chilton, Button and Ricciardo. After the race, Webber cut across Vettel in anger over how his teammate won.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Red Bull technical director Adrian Newey told Webber that Vettel was instructed to hold position. Incensed about Vettel's action, Webber considered boycotting the podium ceremony until convinced to do otherwise. In the cool-down room, Vettel wanted to speak to Webber, who did not want to communicate with him; he sat on a chair and told Vettel, "Multi 21, Seb. Multi 21". During the podium interviews by commentator Martin Brundle, Vettel said that it was "very close wheel-to-wheel racing" with Webber. Webber said that Vettel made an independent choice to pass him, and would receive protection from Red Bull's management.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Hamilton said that his teammate, Rosberg, should have finished third because the latter was faster. During the post-race press conference, Vettel called himself "the black sheep" for prioritising himself over the Red Bull team. Webber said in the final 15 laps, he "was thinking that many things, yes. Many many things" about previous races and the current one. Hamilton said that he would ask Mercedes if he could apologise to his teammate, Rosberg.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Vettel ignoring team orders was a key moment in his rivalry with Webber, which began when he collided with Webber at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix and was forced to retire. Horner talked to Vettel and Webber the night after the race, expressing his misgivings about the situation. Vettel flew from Kuala Lumpur to visit the Red Bull team factory in Milton Keynes, England on 26 March to apologise to his colleagues after doing so to Webber at the press conference.


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
According to Horner, Vettel was eager to make up for the wrongdoing and shook hands with Webber: "He can't turn back the clock, but he's accepted what he did was wrong." Red Bull did not reprimand or punish Vettel because his lawyers threatened legal action; he told Webber at the Chinese Grand Prix three weeks later that he was annoyed by his teammate's comments on the podium. Vettel later recanted his apology for winning: "Obviously I realised at that moment there was quite a conflict. On the one hand I am the kind of guy who respects team decisions and on the other hand, probably Mark is not the one who deserved it (to win) at the time. The bottom line is I was racing, I was faster, I passed him, I won."


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Webber received a telephone call in Australia from Red Bull owner and co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who asked him to provide an oral and written account of events because he was irate about the damage to his company's reputation. Although media reports and comments from the Formula One community speculated about his future at Red Bull and whether reserve driver, Sébastien Buemi, would replace him, Webber dismissed the suggestions and would continue driving for the team for the foreseeable future and talk to Mateschitz about his future later in the year. Webber said in 2020 he believed Vettel might regret the incident, but added that he was not "an angel at certain other events here and there."


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
Alonso said that he could have challenged for the victory had he not retired on the second lap due to Ferrari's similar race pace to Red Bull: "No one was especially quick, so I think we could really have fought for the win." According to Button, he could have battled Mercedes for third position on strategy. Although Rosberg begged Ross Brawn to reconsider his decision to maintain position, he respected Mercedes' judgment and finishing third and fourth and duelling Red Bull was "such a milestone". Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff said about Rosberg was unhappy about the situation but understood the decision to hold position: "We are all grown ups and they are grown up. They are professional sportsmen and they understand that sometimes there can be a certain controversy in a certain situation."


2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Race, Post-race
The result moved Vettel into the lead of the World Drivers' Championship with 40 points, and Räikkönen fell to second place. Webber rose three positions to third place, Hamilton moved to fourth, and Massa dropped from fourth to fifth. Red Bull took the lead of the World Constructors' Championship with 60 points. Lotus maintained second place, and Ferrari fell from first to third. Mercedes and Force India retained fourth and fifth place, with 17 races left in the season.


2013 Malaysian Open
The 2013 BMW Malaysian Open was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the fourth edition of the Malaysian Open and was an International tournament on the 2013 WTA Tour. The tournament took place from February 25 to March 3 at the new venue Royal Selangor Golf Club. This was the last time that Malaysia hosted the event, as in 2014 it will move to Hong Kong, China.


2013 Malaysian Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2013 Malaysian Open – Doubles
Chang Kai-chen and Chuang Chia-jung were the defending champions, but Chuang decided not to participate. Chang played alongside Shuko Aoyama and successfully defended her title by defeating Janette Husárová and Zhang Shuai in the final, 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–4), [14–12].


2013 Malaysian Open – Singles
Hsieh Su-wei was the defending champion, but she lost in the quarterfinals to Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Karolína Plíšková defeated Mattek-Sands in the final, 1–6, 7–5, 6–3, to claim her first WTA singles title.


2013 Malaysian general election
General elections were held in Malaysia on Sunday, 5 May 2013 to elect the members of the 13th Parliament. Voting took place in all 222 parliamentary constituencies, each electing one MP to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. State elections also took place in 505 state constituencies in 12 of the 13 states (excluding Sarawak) on the same day.


2013 Malaysian general election
The elections were the first since Najib Razak became Prime Minister in 2009. The incumbent right-wing Barisan Nasional led by Razak won a second term against the opposition centre-left Pakatan Rakyat led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, after Barisan Nasional formed a majority government at a federal level. Barisan Nasional won 133 seats in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat and 47.38% of the vote whereas the informal coalition, Pakatan Rakyat contesting under a different election symbol, saw a slight increase in both support and seats, winning 50.87% of the popular vote and 89 seats.


2013 Malaysian general election
This was the best performance shown by the opposition bloc against the federal ruling Barisan Nasional, and the first time Barisan Nasional won less of the popular vote than the opposition. Because Barisan Nasional nonetheless won more parliamentary seats than the opposition, the elections were followed by protests and accusations of gerrymandering.


2013 Malaysian general election, Background
The Malaysian Parliament was dissolved on 3 April 2013 by Tuanku Abdul Halim, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Tun Razak. The Prime Minister made a televised statement announcing the dissolution of the 12th Parliament at 11:30 am local time the same day. Following the dissolution of Parliament, a general election was required to be held within 60 days, between 3 April and 2 June 2013, with the date to be decided by the Election Commission.


2013 Malaysian general election, Background
On 10 April 2013, the Election Commission of Malaysia announced that nominations for election candidates would be held on 20 April, with the general election set for 5 May. The early voting date of 30 April was also announced by the Election Commission. Official campaigning began on 20 April, which allowed for a 15-day campaigning period. Postal voting for eligible overseas Malaysians was announced to happen on 28 April 2013. Malaysian representative offices would open on that day for this purpose from 9 am to 6 pm local time. Offices in London and Melbourne would close at 8 pm instead, for the number of postal voters registered in those cities exceeded 1,000.


2013 Malaysian general election, Political system
Malaysia is one of the most ethnically diverse countries, with a majority Malay population in addition to Chinese and Indian minorities, so the political parties are also diverse. Parties engage ethnic divisions, and conflicts over power play out between political parties that represent specific ethnic groups. According to the author Lim Hong Hai, writing in 2002, "over 80 per cent of Malaysia’s population of over 23 million is found in Peninsular Malaysia, where the Malays form the largest ethnic group followed by the Chinese and Indians. All these ethnic groups are minorities in Sabah and Sarawak, where native ethnic groups other than the Malays make up about 60 per cent and 50 per cent of the population, respectively".


2013 Malaysian general election, Political system
The Federation of Malaya was composed of 11 states in the Malay Peninsula that gained independence from Britain in 1957, and two states from the Borneo Island, Sabah and Sarawak which became members of the Federation of Malaya in 1963.


2013 Malaysian general election, Political system, Barisan Nasional
Ruling party, Barisan Nasional (BN) consists of 13 parties and has 137 seats in the parliament. In history, BN has dominated the political framework and easily won each election since the first national vote in 1959.


2013 Malaysian general election, Political system, Barisan Nasional
The incumbent Barisan Nasional coalition returned to power in the 2008 general elections with 140 seats. The opposition parties that would later form the Pakatan Rakyat coalition won a total of 82 seats, thereby denying the BN its two-thirds majority which is required to pass amendments to the Federal Constitution.


2013 Malaysian general election, Political system, Barisan Nasional
Following their losses, then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced on 8 October 2008 that he was stepping down, resigning his post as United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party leader. A leadership election was held on 26 March 2009, where then Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister-designate Najib Tun Razak was elected unopposed as the UMNO party leader. On 2 April 2009, Prime Minister Abdullah tendered his resignation to the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin (who was the Yang di-Pertuan Agong) which was consented. On 3 April 2009, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was sworn-in as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia at the Istana Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in front of Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.


2013 Malaysian general election, Political system, Pakatan Rakyat
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has 76 seats in the Malaysian Parliament and is composed of three large parties. Pakatan Rakyat gained control of five out of thirteen state assemblies (has since lost state assembly to BN due to defection in Perak) and 10 of the 11 parliamentary seats in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.


2013 Malaysian general election, Political system, Pakatan Rakyat
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Leader of the Opposition Anwar Ibrahim, also the head of Pakatan Rakyat was returned to parliament after a ten-year absence following his victory in the Permatang Pauh by-election. The by-election was triggered when his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail resigned from her Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, allowing Anwar to contest the seat and subsequently return to parliament.


2013 Malaysian general election, Dissolution of state legislative assemblies
In accordance with Malaysian law, the parliament as well as the legislative assemblies of each state (Dewan Undangan Negeri) would automatically dissolve on the fifth anniversary of the first sitting, and elections must be held within sixty days of the dissolution, unless dissolved prior to that date by their respective Heads of State on the advice of their Heads of Government.


2013 Malaysian general election, Dissolution of state legislative assemblies
On 28 March 2013, the Negeri Sembilan Legislative Assembly became the first state assembly to dissolve automatically in Malaysian history. The state government would remain in place as a caretaker government and assembly members' constituency offices would remain open to serve the constituencies' needs.


2013 Malaysian general election, Dissolution of state legislative assemblies
Following the dissolution of the Federal Parliament, state assemblies that have yet to be dissolved have announced their dissolution in quick succession. Below are the dates of which the legislative assemblies of each state were dissolved:


2013 Malaysian general election, Dissolution of state legislative assemblies
The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly was not dissolved as the last election was held in 2011 and the term of the state assembly is due to end in 2016. Only parliamentary elections will be held there.


2013 Malaysian general election, Electoral system
The 222 members of the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament, were elected in single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting. In the 2013 general election, 11.05 million people voted which was approximately 85 percent of registered voters in total, and it was the highest rate that Malaysia had ever gotten in their electoral history.


2013 Malaysian general election, Electoral system
Malaysia does not practice compulsory voting and automatic voter registration. Although the age of majority in the country is 18, the voting age is 21. The election was conducted by the Election Commission of Malaysia.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign
Even before the dissolution of Parliament, both the incumbent BN and Pakatan Rakyat brought up a number of issues and incentives to be given to the Malaysian electorate to gain a decisive advantage during the election. Both coalitions released separate election manifestos dealing with issues such as minimum wage, taxation, assistance to small-medium industries, racial relations and financial assistance to the poor. The 2013 elections also saw a number of new measures introduced that are intended to improve the electoral process.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Election firsts
Since the 2008 general election a Parliament Select Committee was formed to make recommendations to improve the country's electoral process. The general election in 2013 brought about the introduction of Indelible ink to prevent voters from voting more than once. The indelible ink was mooted for use during the elections in 2008 but was scrapped by the Election Commission at the last minute. However, it was a source of controversy as reports of voters claiming that the indelible ink could be easily washed off were circulated in the media.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Election firsts
There was also advanced voting for civil servants and military personnel in place of postal voting. This was partly in response to protests by election watchdog groups and opposition parties that the previous voting procedures were not transparent and prone to manipulation.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Election firsts
The Election Commission introduced for the first time postal voting for Malaysians who resided overseas. However, these came with conditions, among them being that overseas Malaysians have to have been in Malaysia a number of times in the last five years. Overseas Malaysians residing in Singapore, southern Thailand, Brunei or Kalimantan in Indonesia were also not qualified to register as postal voters but had to return to their constituency if they were to cast their ballots.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Election firsts
The EC also permitted the disabled to bring along an assistant into the polling booth to aid them in the voting process.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Barisan Nasional
When Najib took over from Abdullah Badawi, he began enlarging the budget of the Prime Minister's Department, where he appointed Koh Tsu Koon to be in charge of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), which includes monitoring the performance of ministries and six national key result areas (NKRAs) through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). He also appointed the former CEO of Malaysian Airlines Idris Jala to help monitor the implementation of the KPIs in the form of the government's Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu).


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Barisan Nasional
Najib's administration also introduced the slogan 1Malaysia in which he called for the embracing all Malaysians of various ethnic groups, national unity and efficient governance. This became public policy, involving various initiatives like the introduction of Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia's discount grocery stores to help the poor, 1Malaysia clinics providing free basic medical services and free email accounts (1Malaysia Email) for the Malaysian populace. His administration also began the distribution of financial aid to Malaysian households earning less than RM3,000 called 1Malaysia People's Aid or Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M). A second round of BR1M financial allocations were made out in February 2013 totalling RM2.6 billion.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Barisan Nasional
Another issue that arose was UMNO endorsing controversial candidates from the Malay right-wing group Perkasa to contest in the upcoming elections such as Zulkifli Noordin and Ibrahim Ali. Although Ibrahim Ali contested the Pasir Mas parliamentary seat as an independent candidate, the BN candidate who was supposed to challenge Ibrahim Ali did not file his nomination papers. The Pasir Mas parliamentary seat was the only seat without a BN candidate in this election.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Barisan Nasional
During the election campaign, Muhyiddin Yassin, the incumbent Deputy Prime Minister had called for Malay Muslims to fight the alleged spread of LGBT movements and freedom of religion among the Malays. Furthermore, Najib has said that his government will defend the prohibition of the usage of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims, which is currently being challenged in court.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Barisan Nasional, BN manifesto
The national BN manifesto pledges the following commitments to be realised within the next 5 years if and when they secure a mandate to form the next Malaysian government:


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Pakatan Rakyat
The opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has remain focused on the good governance of the Malaysian states (Kedah, Penang, Kelantan and Selangor) that they currently control despite not getting full assistance from the federal government One of the points they have made is the strong economic performance of the two states of Penang and Selangor which were reported in the media to have attracted higher business investments compared to other state governments with a BN majority. Some aspects of Pakatan's Election Manifesto is borrowed from their administrative masterplan Buku Jingga. In 2011, Penang and Selangor recorded a total of RM 17.8 billion in investments in the manufacturing sector, slightly more than 30% of the national share.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Pakatan Rakyat
PR announced its intention to replace the criticised New Economic Policy which they claim was discriminatory and only benefited certain groups of people, such as UMNO-connected individuals. Another main election promise they brought up was to cut the amount of spending wastages and the usage of direct aid to pay for social causes and provide free education around the country. One of the other issues is the Pakatan Rakyat's tussle for control of water company Syabas with the federal government, which has allegedly been mismanaging their operations. They have promised to give free water for the poor and unfortunate in the state of Selangor.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Pakatan Rakyat
PR also promised to close down the Lynas Advance Materials Plant situated in Kuantan, Pahang if it is deemed unsafe. This received the support of Himpunan Hijau, the green movement opposed to the operations of the Lynas plant, whose chairman, Wong Tack will be contesting in the elections under the DAP banner.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Pakatan Rakyat
PR also promised to increase the petroleum royalty payments from national oil company Petronas to petroleum-producing states (Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak) in Malaysia, irrespective of the party that forms the next state government.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Pakatan Rakyat
On 13 April 2013, the Registrar of Societies (ROS) sent a letter to DAP, that due to technical glitches in the party polls, several of DAP's members were requested to attend an inquiry on 18 April 2013. This could have endangered DAP's chance to contest in the general election due to fears that the party might be deregistered. DAP had mulled the intention for their candidates to contest under the banner of PKR and PAS, butreceived assurance from the ROS that their symbol could be used legally during the general elections.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Pakatan Rakyat
In Sarawak, opposition party DAP had put up election billboards highlighting the issue of murdered Mongolian Altantuyaa Sharibuu, but these billboards were torn down by enforcement officers. Following protests made by local DAP members, it was explained that the election billboards were removed as it depicted a person who was not contesting in the elections.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Pakatan Rakyat, PR manifesto
The national PR manifesto has outlined the actions they will take if they form the next Malaysian government.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Pakatan Rakyat, PR manifesto
The following actions have been pledged to be implemented immediately, in accordance with the Kuching Declaration:


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Third parties
The election also brought in the entry of many third parties that influenced the election outcome in many parliament and state seats. Indian-based party Human Rights Party Malaysia, which was instrumental in organising Indians in protests against the government such as Hindraf rally in 2007, contested in several seats in Peninsular Malaysia. Currently, there are two camps in Hindraf: one aligned to Barisan Nasional and another that is neutral.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Third parties
Borneo-based parties such as Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) (a former BN coalition partner) and the State Reform Party (STAR) contested the election on their own after a breakdown in talks with PR in having one to one contests against BN. The entry of these parties have brought about multi-cornered fights in Sabah and Sarawak. One of the main issues they brought up was the increasing number of illegals in Sabah and of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah. Furthermore, SAPP and STAR are partners in the United Borneo Front which fights for the equal status of Sabah and Sarawak as stipulated in the Malaysia Agreement that was made in 1963.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Bersih factor
The election watchdog group Bersih will be a big factor in the elections as they were responsible for organising large rallies calling for the electoral reforms in Malaysia in 2011 and 2012. They have pointed out that the electoral roll was marred by irregularities such as gerrymandering, phantom voters, malapportionment and postal vote fraud. Bersih has also warned against politicians or groups that support intimidation and violence against the electorate. Bersih has added to its blacklist of politicians who perpetuate the cycle of political violence such as Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi and BN candidate Hamidah Othman. Bersih has criticised both the BN-majority federal and PR-majority Selangor state caretaker governments for using government resources for election campaigning purposes.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Nominations
Nominations for candidates were made on 20 April 2013 between 9am and 10am. For the first time in Malaysian electoral history, all seats were contested and no candidate won a seat unopposed, with some candidates facing as many as 6 opponents.


2013 Malaysian general election, Campaign, Nominations
There were 579 parliamentary candidates contesting for 222 parliamentary seats, and 1,322 candidates fighting for 505 state seats.


2013 Malaysian general election, Conduct, Incidents
During the first three days of the official campaigning period, a total of 387 incidents were reported, with no fewer than 15 people arrested by the police for investigation. On 23 April 2013 in Nibong Tebal, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded at the site of a BN rally, injuring one. The police subsequently discovered a second IED at the site, which was later safely detonated. Both the incumbent Prime Minister Najib Razak and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim have condemned the violence. The bombings have also been condemned by Bersih who said that all politicians should condemn the violence regardless of party affiliation. Bersih has offered to monitor police reports made on political violence and incidents of electoral misconduct.


2013 Malaysian general election, Conduct, Incidents
Opposition political gatherings were disrupted by bikers. On 24 April 2013, a press photographer was assaulted by bikers spotted wearing 1Malaysia shirts at a gathering by DAP in Bukit Gelugor. The state BN chief has denied any connection with the incident. Additionally, there have been numerous reports of vandalism against vehicles used by opposition politicians and their supporters. In one incident, two cars belonging to a PKR candidate's daughter were damaged following an arson attempt at her residence in Klang.


2013 Malaysian general election, Conduct, Incidents
A number of sexually explicit videos allegedly portraying opposition figures have surfaced in cyberspace, notably on blogs hostile towards the Pakatan Rakyat. The secretary-general of PAS, Datuk Mustafa Ali, who was implicated in one of the videos has denied his involvement, with his lawyer calling the videos "a pure slander campaign by UMNO". In turn, UMNO has sued Mustafa and his lawyer over those allegedly libelous statements. Anwar Ibrahim has also sued UMNO blogger and election candidate Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris for trying to implicate him in one of the explicit videos.


2013 Malaysian general election, Conduct, Incidents
A number of anti-Christian billboards have appeared during the election campaign period, bringing up the ire of the Christian Federation of Malaysia, who have called for the removal of such billboards.


2013 Malaysian general election, Conduct, Incidents
Users of several online news and media websites, such as independent news site Malaysiakini have claimed that several Malaysian internet service providers (ISPs) were throttling their access speeds to the sites. Several independent websites critical of the government, such as Radio Free Malaysia and Sarawak Report have experienced DDoS attacks. Malaysiakini have claimed that their Twitter account was hacked and their videos inaccessible through local ISPs.


2013 Malaysian general election, Conduct, Incidents
There have been a number of reports by the opposition alleging that the incumbent government is flying in thousands of foreigners to parts of Malaysia to influence the outcome of the vote in favour of BN. BN in turn has denied any wrongdoing, saying these flights were sponsored by "friends of BN". Bersih has called the provision of flights for voters an election offence. The opposition said that many of their supporters and agents will be monitoring the situation and making citizen's arrests of foreigners who vote.


2013 Malaysian general election, Conduct, Voting
Postal voting for overseas Malaysians were conducted in various Malaysian representative offices around the world. According to the Election Commission (EC), 70% of 8,756 people who were eligible to vote overseas turned up to vote despite some teething problems.


2013 Malaysian general election, Conduct, Voting
Early voting was conducted for military, police personnel and their spouses in 544 polling centres throughout Malaysia. It was estimated that there were 270,000 of these voters in total. There have been several reports regarding the usage of indelible ink for early voters, with some claiming that the ink could be easily washed off. The Election Commission has promised to conduct investigations on this issue after a number of reports lodged by several opposition parties. On 2 May 2013, the EC held a public demonstration on the application of indelible ink.


2013 Malaysian general election, Conduct, Voting
During this demonstration, the stain left behind by the ink was attempted to be washed off using various means, but without success. Addressing the earlier claims and reports of the stain being easily removed, EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar stated that this could be due to improper application procedures. He said that if the ink bottles were not thoroughly shook before use, the applied ink may contain insufficient quantities of silver nitrate, the compound used in the ink that leaves a permanent stain.


2013 Malaysian general election, Conduct, Voting
General voting began at 8.00 am on 5 May 2013 with a total of 13,268,002 Malaysians eligible to cast their ballots at 8,789 polling centres nationwide. Voter turnout is expected to be at an all-time high surpassing the 2008 election. As of 12 pm, 58.99% of voters have cast their ballots, nationwide. Voting closed at 5 pm however voters inside the polling stations are allowed to continue casting their ballots. Estimated turnout was 80%.


2013 Malaysian general election, Results, Dewan Rakyat
According to the author of the document "13th General Election in Malaysia: Overview and Summary," Khoo Boo Teik,  "At the national level, PR gained a significantly higher proportion of the popular vote than BN. In all Parliamentary contests, PR obtained 50.8 per cent of the popular vote compared to BN’s 47.38 per cent. As in past elections, however, its domination of a gerrymandered first-past-the-post system with pronounced constituency malapportionment gave BN a disproportionately high share of Parliamentary seats."


2013 Malaysian general election, Reactions, analysis and aftermath
Najib Razak told the media the day after the election: "We have to show to the world that we are a mature democracy. Whatever happens, the decision of the people, the will of the people must be respected." He added: "After my inauguration as prime minister, I vow to honestly carry out all my obligations with full dedication. I will be truly faithful to Malaysia and will preserve, protect and defend the institution."


2013 Malaysian general election, Reactions, analysis and aftermath
Anwar Ibrahim reacted in calling for two days of protests in saying the win was the "worst electoral fraud in our history" and that he "call[s] upon as many Malaysians to join hands and express our rejection and disgust at the unprecedented electoral fraud committed by Najib Razak and the EC (Election Commission)."


2013 Malaysian general election, Reactions, analysis and aftermath
Herizal Hazri of the Malaysia Asia Foundation said: "There is a sense of rejection within the urban Malaysian voters to accept this rhetoric. They want a more inclusive Malaysia, they want to vote for parties that represents all race groups." The opposition parties had promised to revise Malaysia's affirmative action policy which favours Malays and other indigenous groups ("Bumiputra") over the Chinese and Indian minorities. Prime Minister Najib Razak claimed that this was the reason why ethnic Chinese voted for the opposition.


2013 Malaysian general election, Reactions, analysis and aftermath
The most perceivable swing from the ruling coalition to the opposition, namely from the BN-affiliated MCA and Gerakan parties to the DAP, was among ethnic Chinese voters. This led to Najib claiming that the opposition had manipulated and deceived this population group and making a "Chinese tsunami" accountable for his alliance's losses. However, the claim was disputed by political analyst Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, who claimed it was more accurately, an urban swing. The geographic distribution of votes shows a considerable difference between largely urban regions with a great proportion of ethnic Chinese which mostly voted for the oppositional alliance – often by a high margin – and more rural states populated by "Bumiputra" where the governing coalition won most of its seats.


2013 Malaysian general election, Reactions, analysis and aftermath
On 8 May, Anwar led a rally in the Kelana Jaya football stadium near Kuala Lumpur. According to online sources that support PR, 120,000 people participated. Since the stadium usually can hold approximately 25,000 people, skeptics estimated that the number of participants ranged from 64,000 to 69,000. PR supporters claimed that the election was a sham.


2013 Malaysian general election, Reactions, analysis and aftermath
Pakatan Rakyat suffered from a leadership crisis after the election, including the withdrawal of PAS from the coalition in 2015. The coalition thus automatically dissolved and was replaced by Pakatan Harapan.


2013 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2013 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix was the fifteenth round of the 2013 MotoGP season. It was held at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang on 13 October 2013.


2013 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix
Spain's Ana Carrasco became the first female rider to score a point since Katja Poensgen at the 2001 Italian Grand Prix, and the first in the Moto3 class. The predecessor 125cc class had its last point scored by a female rider, Tomoko Igata at the 1995 Czech Republic Grand Prix. This also marked the final Grand Prix win in the career of Luis Salom before his death 3 years later at the 2016 Catalan Grand Prix after suffering a fatal crash in the second free practice session.


2013 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix, Classification, Moto2
The first attempt to run the race was interrupted on the opening lap, following an incident involving Axel Pons, Fadli Immammuddin, who collected Pons's crashed bike, and then Ezequiel Iturrioz, Zaqhwan Zaidi and Decha Kraisart. For the restart, the race distance was reduced from 19 to 12 laps.


2013 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round fifteen has concluded.


2013 Malaysian state elections
State elections were held in all states and territories in Malaysia except Sarawak on 5 May 2013, alongside general elections. Although the Pakatan Rakyat alliance received over 50% of the vote across the 12 states and territories where elections took place, the Barisan Nasional won the most seats, emerging as the largest faction in all states and territories except Kelantan, Penang and Selangor.


2013 Malaysian state elections, Results, Terengganu
Source: Note:1 Kuala Besut BN assemblyman, A. Rahman Mokhtar died on 26 June 2013 from lung cancer, paving way for a by-election


2013 Maldives FA Cup
The 2013 Maldives FA Cup was the 26th edition of the Maldives FA Cup.


2013 Maldives FA Cup
The cup winner were guaranteed a place in the 2014 AFC Cup.


2013 Maldives FA Cup Final
The 2013 Maldives FA Cup Final is the 26th Final of the Maldives FA Cup.


2013 Maldives FA Cup Final, Route to the final
* Victory Sports Club withdraw from 2013 FA Cup and the match awarded New Radiant a 2–0 win.


2013 Maldivian Second Division Football Tournament
Statistics of Second Division Football Tournament in the 2013 season. The FAM rebranded the name of the 'Second Division Football Tournament to Enjoy Championship after the sponsor from Enjoy juice.


2013 Maldivian Second Division Football Tournament, Teams
9 teams are competing in the 2013 Second Division Football Tournament, and these teams were divided into 2 groups.


2013 Maldivian Second Division Football Tournament, Group stage round
From each group, the top two teams will be advanced for the league round.


2013 Maldivian Second Division Football Tournament, Group stage round, Group 1
Club Green Streets and Mahibadhoo SC advanced to the league round as the top two teams of the group.


2013 Maldivian Second Division Football Tournament, Group stage round, Group 2
Club Zefrol and Sports Club Mecano advanced to the league round as the top two teams of the group.


2013 Maldivian Second Division Football Tournament, League round
The top two teams from each group will be qualified to compete in this round. As a total of four teams will be playing in this round of the tournament, the top two teams from this round will be advanced to the Final. The top two teams of this round will also play in the Playoff for 2014 Dhivehi League. Mahibadhoo SC and Sports Club Mecano claimed the first and second position to advance for the Final.


2013 Maldivian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in the Maldives in 2013. The first round of voting was held on 7 September, with no candidate receiving a majority of the vote.


2013 Maldivian presidential election
A second round was planned for 28 September, to be contested by the top two candidates, former President Mohamed Nasheed (who was contesting the election following his controversial resignation amidst the 2011–12 Maldives political crisis with the aim of returning to the presidency after what he claimed was a coup d'état orchestrated by his deputy and successor Mohammed Waheed Hassan) and Abdulla Yameen, paternal half-brother of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom; incumbent President Hassan had come fourth and was eliminated.


2013 Maldivian presidential election
However, on 27 September the Supreme Court cancelled the run-off and annulled the first round results. A re-run of the first round was held on 9 November, with a similar result to the annulled vote. A run-off was planned for the following day due to the need to have a new President in place by 11 November. However, it was then postponed until 16 November by the Supreme Court after Yameen claimed he needed more time to campaign. Yameen went on to win the run-off with his share of the vote rising from 30% in the first round to 51% in the second round, whilst Nasheed's share increased by only 2%.


2013 Maldivian presidential election, Background, 2011–12 political crisis
Political friction in the country escalated in December 2011, when an opposition alliance 'Madhanee Ithihaad' was formed, which included the parties that supported the President Mohamed Nasheed in his 2008 presidential race. On 23 December, the capital city was rocked by protests by the opposition against the President Mohamed Nasheed. Further events transpired leading to the arrest of Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed from his house by the military. This arrest sparked violent protests near the Republic Square. After the government refused to disclose any information to the public, the protests started gaining momentum.


2013 Maldivian presidential election, Background, 2011–12 political crisis
Demands went up for an independent investigation into the Judge and to arrest him according to the constitution and for the president to stop using executive power over another institution. The protest extended for over 22 days in the Republic Square and on 6 February 2012, the Maldives Police Service declined to use force to control or disperse the protests and joined the protest for the release of Judge Abdulla Mohamed. President Nasheed resigned the following day.


2013 Maldivian presidential election, Background, 2011–12 political crisis
On 8 February 2012, the Maldivian Democratic Party announced for all its members across the country to go into streets in protests. President Mohamed Nasheed led the protests to Republic Square, announcing that he was forced to resign at gunpoint, and that the event was a coup d'etat orchestrated by Vice-President Mohammed Waheed Hassan, who was sworn in as the new president of Maldives on the same day in accordance with the law of the Maldives. An independent National Commission of Inquiry later ruled that there was no evidence for Nasheed's version of events, a finding supported by the US and the Commonwealth of Nations.


2013 Maldivian presidential election, Background, 2011–12 political crisis
After Nasheed and his supporters continued to protest Waheed's removal from office, he agreed to call a snap election. In April 2012, Waheed set the election for July 2013, stating that no earlier election was constitutionally possible. However Nasheed, strongly opposed this idea instead arguing for a 2012 election to settle the disputed presidency. This date was later then pushed down to September 2013, to when the next presidential election would constitutionally be taking place.


2013 Maldivian presidential election, Candidates
Incumbent President Mohammed Waheed ran as an independent candidate but backed by the National Unity Party and the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party. Former President Mohamed Nasheed was the Maldivian Democratic Party's candidate. Gasim Ibrahim is the candidate of the Jumhooree Party (JP) and is supported by the Adhaalath Party (AP) and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party.


2013 Maldivian presidential election, Candidates
Leader of the Progressive Party of Maldives, former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, declared that he would not participate in any further election on 25 February. PPM held its presidential primary election on 30 March. The candidacy was won by the party's parliamentary group leader, and half-brother of Gayyoom, Abdulla Yameen with 63% of the vote, beating rival candidate Umar Naseer. A total of 31,298 PPM members were eligible to vote in the party's presidential primary through one of the 167 ballot boxes placed in 140 islands. In August, new political party Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) signed a coalition agreement with PPM to provide support in the presidential election.


2013 Maldivian presidential election, Results
Following the original first round on 7 September, the Supreme Court annulled the elections and cancelled the planned second round by a vote of four to three. Voting in favour of the annulment, Judge Ahmed Abdulla Didi referenced a confidential police report that claimed that 5,623 ineligible people had voted in the elections including dead people and others under 18. The rechecking of voters' registry was carried out in the presence of the staff of Elections Commission and the Police Service.


2013 Malian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Mali on 24 November 2013. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta's party, Rally for Mali, won 66 of the 147 seats in the National Assembly, with its allies winning an additional 49 seats, giving it a substantial majority. The Union for the Republic and Democracy, led by Soumaïla Cissé, won 17 seats, becoming the Opposition.


2013 Malian parliamentary election
The elections had originally been planned for 1 and 22 July 2012, but were postponed after the Tuareg Rebellion and the March 2012 coup d'état. A second round of voting was held on 15 December 2013.


2013 Malian parliamentary election, Background
Following French intervention in the country's separatist Azawad region, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that the elections should continue as scheduled and that the number of French forces in the country would be halved. Interim Prime Minister Django Sissoko visited Gao in northern Mali for the first time since the French intervention and rebel takeover in April 2013. He announced that the elections would take place in July and the preparations were under way. However, unnamed analysts suggested botched elections could lead to further unrest. It was later decided to hold the legislative elections a few months after the presidential polls.


2013 Malian parliamentary election, Conduct
In July 2013, gunmen abducted two election officials a week before the presidential elections. Two days before the second round of the parliamentary election, two Senegalese MINUSMA peacekeepers were killed in a bombing outside the Malian Solidarity Bank in Kidal. On 15 December, the second round voter turnout was just 38.5%.


2013 Malian parliamentary election, Results
In the second round, out of 5,951,838 registered voters, 2,221,283 cast a vote - with 2,122,449 being valid - totalling a 37.32% turnout, according to the Constitutional Court


2013 Malian parliamentary election, Aftermath
Issaka Sidibé, an RPM Deputy, was elected as President of the National Assembly on 22 January 2014. He received 115 votes, a large majority; 11 deputies voted instead for Oumar Mariko, while 20 deputies cast blank votes and one deputy cast a spoiled vote.


2013 Malian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Mali on 28 July 2013, with a second round run-off held on 11 August. Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta defeated Soumaïla Cissé in the run-off to become the new President of Mali.


2013 Malian presidential election, Background
According to the 1992 constitution, elections should have taken place in 2012. The first round was originally scheduled for 29 April, and the second round scheduled for 13 May. The first round was also planned to include a referendum on revising the constitution.


2013 Malian presidential election, Background
The elections would have marked the end of the second term of office of President Amadou Toumani Touré, conforming to the Malian constitution which limits individuals to two presidential terms. Touré confirmed, at a press conference on 12 June 2011, that he would not stand for election again.


2013 Malian presidential election, Background, Insurgency and coup d'etat
In 2012, Tuareg and other peoples in northern Mali's Azawad region started an insurgency in the north under the banner of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. The Malian Army complained that it was ill-equipped to fight the insurgents, who had benefited from an influx of heavy weaponry from the 2011 Libyan civil war as well as other sources. On 21 March 2012 elements of the army staged a military coup d'état and formed the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State.


2013 Malian presidential election, Background, Insurgency and coup d'etat
The scheduled elections were then called into question after coup leaders suspended the constitution and arrested government ministers, while promising that, at some time in the future, elections would be held to return governance to civilian control. Following the coup, the rebels made further advances to capture the three biggest cities in the north. On 1 April 2012, under pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the leader of the junta Captain Amadou Sanogo announced that the constitution would be restored.


2013 Malian presidential election, Background, Insurgency and coup d'etat
Following economic sanctions and a blockade by ECOWAS on the country, a deal brokered in Burkina Faso by President Blaise Compaoré under the auspices of ECOWAS, was signed that saw Sanogo cede power to Dioncounda Traoré to assume the presidency in an interim capacity until the election was held.


2013 Malian presidential election, Background, Insurgency and coup d'etat
On 1 July 2013, 6,000 of a future total of 12,600 UN peacekeeping troops officially took over responsibility for patrolling the country's north from France and the ECOWAS' International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA). The force would be led by former second-in-command in Darfur, Rwandan General Jean Bosco Kazura, and will be known as the MINUSMA. Though the group was expected to play a role in the election, the electoral commission's president, Mamadou Diamountani, said it would be "extremely difficult" to arrange for up to eight million voting identification cards when there were 500,000 displaced people as a result of the conflict.


2013 Malian presidential election, Electoral organisation controversies
To improve the electoral process, the government decided to use the election process of the Administrative Census to Elections (RACE) to further direct the Minister of Territorial Administration and Local Government and the General Administrator of Elections, General Kafougona Kone. The majority of political parties would prefer the use of another electoral system under the Administrative Census Vocation of Civil Status (RAVEC), an electoral process considered more reliable. However, the government considers that this second process with RAVEC presents a number of difficulties with identification of non-Malians living in the Côte d'Ivoire and there are a large number of corrections to be made in a very short time.


2013 Malian presidential election, Electoral organisation controversies
The cost of using this other process is estimated at 41 billion West African CFA francs (nearly $83 million US dollars). At a meeting between the government and political parties on 3 January 2012, the National Director of the Interior, to the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Local Government, Bassidi Coulibaly, acknowledged the weak influence of citizens for revision of the electoral lists.


2013 Malian presidential election, Electoral organisation controversies
Just as campaigning was about to get under way, the Malian government lifted the state of emergency in place in the country since the northern battles.


2013 Malian presidential election, Electoral organisation controversies
Although the jihadist group MUJAO warned people not to vote and threatened to attack polling stations, no violence occurred during the elections.


2013 Malian presidential election, Candidates
Several candidates declared their intention to run for the original elections or were invested by their party.


2013 Malian presidential election, Results
On 3 August 2013, ADEMA candidate Dramane Dembélé, who placed third in the election, announced his support for Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in the second round, saying that "we are in the Socialist International, we share the same values". However, in endorsing Keita he contradicted the official stance of ADEMA, which had backed Keita's rival, Soumaïla Cissé, on the previous day. The party stressed that Dembélé was speaking only for himself and that the party still supported Cissé.


2013 Malmö FF season
The 2013 season was Malmö FF's 102nd in existence, their 78th season in Allsvenskan and their 13th consecutive season in the league. They competed in Allsvenskan where they finished first, 2012–13 Svenska Cupen where they were knocked out in the group stage, Svenska Supercupen where they won the competition against IFK Göteborg and the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League where they were knocked out in the third qualifying round. Malmö FF also participated in one competition in which the club continued playing in for the 2014 season, 2013–14 Svenska Cupen. The season began with the group stage of Svenska Cupen in March, league play started in April and lasted until November, Svenska Supercupen was the last competitive match of the season.


2013 Malmö FF season
A new captain was announced since former captain Ulrich Vinzents left the squad as well as former vice captain and previous captain Daniel Andersson who announced his retirement from professional football in November 2012. Third captain Jiloan Hamad took over the captaincy. The club won their 17th Swedish championship title and 20th Allsvenskan title on 28 October 2013 when they defeated reigning champions IF Elfsborg in an away fixture at Borås Arena in the penultimate round of the league.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Allsvenskan
The league season started in late March 2013 and ended in early November 2013. The official season fixtures were released on 14 December 2012. Malmö FF started the season with a home fixture against newcomers Halmstads BK on 1 April which ended in a 1–1 draw. There was no longer break in the match schedule even though Sweden hosted the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 between 10 and 28 July, although there was shorter breaks due to international fixtures. Malmö FF ended the season at home against Syrianska FC with a 3–1 win on 3 November.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Allsvenskan
After the draw in the opening game the club won four games in a row against Åtvidabergs FF, Kalmar FF, AIK and Östers IF, two of which were at home and two which were away games. This resulted in Malmö FF positioning themselves second in the league table after IFK Göteborg with the same number of points albeit with a lesser goal difference. The next match after the four win streak was the away game against IFK Göteborg. This match ended 1–1 after Göteborg scored the equalizer in the last minute of the game.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Allsvenskan
A 1–1 draw in the next home game against IFK Norrköping still kept the club at second place in the table, although their first loss of the season in the next game, the away fixture against Djurgårdens IF, saw Malmö FF drop to a fifth place in the league table. The win-less streak continued in the next two games. Malmö FF drew 2–2 in the away game against Mjällby AIF, thus continuing Malmö FF's difficult history at Strandvallen, Malmö FF have never won an away fixture against Mjällby at Strandvallen in eight tries since 1980.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Allsvenskan
For the 10th round Malmö FF faced Helsingborgs IF in the Scanian derby at home. The match was attended by a season best of 23,730 spectators and resulted in a 1–1 draw. With a third of the league matches played Malmö FF had gathered 17 points and positioned themselves fourth in the league table after leaders Helsingborg, IFK Göteborg and last years winners IF Elfsborg.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Allsvenskan
Malmö FF then won three games in a row, two away games against IF Brommapojkarna and Syrianska FC as well as the home game against top rivals Elfsborg. Despite this, the club remained in 4th position. This was followed by a rare home defeat against last years runners up BK Häcken with 3–1. This was followed up by two home wins which saw Malmö FF advance up to second place in the league table behind Helsingborg.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Allsvenskan
In the middle of European play in the UEFA Europa League the club lost the following away fixture against fellow European qualifying contender Gefle IF. This match was once again followed by a string of wins leading up to the 20th round of matches. On 11 August the club beat fellow title contender AIK 1–0 in Malmö in a match that meant that Malmö FF went three points ahead of AIK and with the same number of points as leaders Helsingborg.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Allsvenskan
Malmö FF secured pole position in the table in the following fixture when they beat Kalmar FF at Guldfågeln Arena on 18 August with 4–1, Kalmar's first home defeat of the season. With only ten matches left of the season Malmö FF was in the lead with 41 points. Helsinborg, IFK Göteborg and AIK trailed the club with 38 points respectively.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Allsvenskan
The next fixture was Malmö FF vs IFK Göteborg at Swedbank Stadion which Malmö FF won 3–1 after having been down 0–1 after 17 minutes of play. This fixture established Malmö FF as the top contender for the title. Next followed a 1–1 draw in the away fixture against Östers IF before a two-week international break. Malmö FF followed up the break by losing at home against Djurgårdens IF who they had previously lost against in the away fixture earlier in the season. Nevertheless, of this streak of two win-less matches Malmö FF stayed at the top of the table.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Allsvenskan
The club went on to win three consecutive fixtures in which the away match against Helsingborgs IF was crucial as this put Malmö FF six points ahead of their rivals and kept the gap down to IFK Göteborg who was now their primary title contender. The club then later had the opportunity to increase their lead to seven points in the away fixture against BK Häcken as IFK Göteborg had lost their match against Djurgårdens IF just moments before the start of the game at Rambergsvallen. However this failed as Häcken took their second win of the season against Malmö FF.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Allsvenskan
Nevertheless, Malmö FF still had the opportunity to win the title if they could win two of the remaining three fixtures. In the next fixture at home against IF Bromapojkarna the away side equalized Malmö FF's early lead and held the club to a draw until the 86th minute when Guillermo Molins scored the winning goal, Molins had also scored the first goal of the game. This meant that the club had the opportunity to clinch the league title with a win in the away fixture against IF Elfsborg at Borås Arena in Borås on 28 October.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Allsvenskan
Up until the final hours prior to the match it was uncertain if the match could be played due to weather conditions caused by the St Jude storm that affected the whole of south-west Sweden at the time. However the match official deemed that the match could go ahead and 4,000 to 5,000 Malmö FF who had travelled the 30 miles from Malmö were let into the stands. The match was eventually won 2–0 by Malmö FF after two goals from Molins yet again. This meant that the club had won its 20th Allsvenskan title and 17th Swedish championship title.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Allsvenskan
This was the first time the club had secured a Swedish championship in an away fixture since the 1977 season, that time also in Borås at Ryavallen. The last match of the season was the home fixture against Syrianska FC on 3 November. Malmö FF quickly opened the scoring with three goals in the game's first 19 minutes. Syrianska eventually reduced the lead to 3–1 which was the game's final result. 23,758 people attended the game at Swedbank Stadion, this season's best attendance ahead of the home fixture against Helsingborg. Daniel Andersson was substituted into play in the 84th minute of play to celebrate the end of his playing career. After the match the team was awarded Lennart Johanssons Pokal by previous UEFA and Swedish Football Association president himself, Lennart Johansson.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Svenska Cupen
Malmö FF qualified for the group stage of the 2012–13 Svenska Cupen in the 2012 season by beating Sandvikens IF after extra time in round 2 in August 2012. The club was later seeded third in the group stage draw after finishing third in the 2012 Allsvenskan. The groups were drawn in November 2012 and Malmö FF were drawn against newly relegated GIF Sundsvall, newly promoted Östers IF and Division 1 club IK Frej. The group stage was played in early March 2013 before the start of the league season.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Svenska Cupen
Malmö FF played their first cup match of the new year against Östers IF on 2 March 2013 at Malmö Stadion, the match finished in a draw 1–1. The second fixture was played against IK Frej who had beaten GIF Sundsvall 2–1 in the previous home fixture. The match which ended 2–0 in Malmö FF's favour was played on 10 March 2013 at Skytteholms IP in Solna. Östers IF had played their last group fixture against IK Frej three days prior to Malmö FF's last fixture, that match ended 5–0 for Östers IF.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Svenska Cupen
This meant that Malmö FF were forced to win their match against GIF Sundsvall with at least five goals to progress to the quarter-finals on superior goal difference. The match against GIF Sundsvall was played at Limhamns IP in Malmö and ended 4–1 to Malmö FF. This meant that the club finished second in the group, and therefore missed advancement to the quarter-finals, with seven points, this was as many points as Östers IF but with a lesser goal difference of +5 in comparison to Östers IF's +7.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Svenska Cupen
Malmö FF entered the new cup season in the second round which was played on 21 August 2013. The club was drawn against Division 2 side Sävedalens IF and the match was played away in Partille. Malmö FF won 6–0 and progressed to the group stage which was played in March 2014.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, Svenska Supercupen
Malmö FF qualified for the 2013 Svenska Supercupen by winning the 2013 Allsvenskan on 28 October 2013. The match was played at home at Swedbank Stadion on 10 November 2013 and the club's opponents was 2012–13 Svenska Cupen winners IFK Göteborg. This was the second time that the club competed in Svenska Supercupen and it was the club's second attempt to win the competition after having failed the first time in 2011 against Helsingborgs IF. The match ended in a 3–2 win for Malmö FF after Emil Forsberg scored two goals and Guillermo Molins scored the third and winning goal in injury time.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, UEFA Europa League
Malmö FF qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League by merit of finishing third in the 2012 Allsvenskan. The club entered the competition in the first round of qualification. The draws for the first and second qualifying rounds were held on 24 June 2013, Malmö FF was seeded in both the draw for the first qualifying round and the second qualifying round. Malmö FF were drawn against Irish club Drogheda United in the first qualifying round.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, UEFA Europa League
The first leg in Dublin on 4 July ended 0–0 and the second leg on 11 July in Malmö ended with a 2–0 victory for Malmö FF, this resulted in a 2–0 aggregate score for Malmö FF to take the club through to the second qualifying round. Malmö FF played Scottish club Hibernian F.C. in the second qualifying round on 18 and 25 July. The first match at home was won 2–0 and the match in Edinburgh ended in a decisive 7–0 victory for Malmö FF to win with a 9–0 aggregate score.


2013 Malmö FF season, Summary, UEFA Europa League
Malmö FF were not seeded in the draw for the third qualifying round which resulted in the winner of Malmö FF and Hibernian facing Swansea City from the English Premier League. The first leg of the match was played in Swansea on 1 August and ended in a 4–0 victory for the home side. The second leg played in Malmö on 8 August ended in a goalless draw which confirmed the aggregate score to 4–0 in favour of Swansea City.


2013 Malmö FF season, Players, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2013 Malmö FF season, Players, Disciplinary record
Source: Only competitive matches = Number of bookings;  = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card;  = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.Notes: Allsvenskan only


2013 Malta Open darts
2013 Malta Open is a darts tournament, which took place at the Topaz Hotel in Buġibba, Malta in 2013.


2013 Maltese general election
General elections were held in Malta on Saturday, 9 March 2013. The Labour Party won a majority of seats, unseating the Nationalist Party, which had been in power since 1998.


2013 Maltese general election, Background
On 10 December 2012 Lawrence Gonzi's government was defeated in a vote on the 2013 Financial Estimates when ruling party MP Franco Debono voted against the government's budget proposal in protest over transportation reform in giving a German operator the contract to manage the national bus service. Faced with loss of supply, Gonzi announced that the House of Representatives would be dissolved on 7 January and a general election called for 9 March.


2013 Maltese general election, Electoral system
The system of voting used was, as in previous elections, proportional representation through modified single transferable vote with five MPs to be returned from each of thirteen districts, i.e. 65 constituency seats in total, with a variable number of at-large seats added to ensure that the overall first-preference votes are reflected in the composition of the House of Representatives. There were also some minor changes to the boundaries of electoral districts from the previous general election and improved voting arrangements for hospital patients.


2013 Maltese general election, Parties
The two leading political parties contesting the election were the Nationalist Party of the incumbent prime minister, Lawrence Gonzi and the Labour Party, led by Joseph Muscat, for whom this was the first general election at the helm of the party. The Third party was Democratic Alternative, a Green Party, which was seeking to elect its first MP. A small number of independent candidates also ran for election.


2013 Maltese general election, Parties
National Action, which stood candidates in the 2008 general election and 2009 European Parliamentary election, ceased activities in 2010 and did not contest this election.


2013 Maltese general election, Opinion polls
¤ Opinion polls adjusted for the preference of undecided voters.


2013 Maltese general election, Results
Following the announcement of the preliminary result, in which Labour had 39 seats to 26 for the Nationalists, Labour party leader Joseph Muscat said from Naxxar: "I wasn't expecting such a landslide victory for Labour. We must all remain calm, tomorrow is another day." Nationalist party leader Lawrence Gonzi conceded the election in saying "The Nationalist Party needs to begin a reform process and at the same remain rooted in its values."


2013 Maltese general election, Results
This was the first time the Labour party won a majority in the government since Malta joined the European Union, as well as being the first Labour government since the new millennium (as the previous one should have ended in 2001, but ended prematurely in 1998). Furthermore, the Labour party won absolute majority of the votes in 23 of the 35 localities, increasing its overall share of the votes by 2.2% from the last elections. The Nationalist Party was subsequently awarded four at-large seats, bringing it to 30 in all, to adjust for its share of the first-preference vote.


2013 Man Booker Prize
The 2013 Booker Prize for Fiction was awarded on 15 October 2013 to Eleanor Catton for her novel The Luminaries. A longlist of thirteen titles was announced on 23 July, and these were narrowed down to a shortlist of six titles, announced on 10 September. The jury was chaired by Robert Macfarlane, who was joined by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Natalie Haynes, Martha Kearney, and Stuart Kelly. The shortlist contained great geographical and ethnic diversity, with Zimbabwean-born NoViolet Bulawayo, Eleanor Catton of New Zealand, Jim Crace from England, Indian American Jhumpa Lahiri, Canadian-American Ruth Ozeki and Colm Tóibín of Ireland.


2013 Man Booker Prize, Judging panel
On 21 November 2012, it was announced that Robert Macfarlane would chair the panel of judges that would decide the winner of the 2013 award. Macfarlane declared that he felt "very proud indeed to be chairing this prize, which has done so much to shape the modern literary landscape." On 17 December, he was joined by four other judges: biographer and critic Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, writer and broadcaster Natalie Haynes, journalist Martha Kearney, and writer, critic and reviewer Stuart Kelly.


2013 Man Booker Prize, Judging panel
"Part of the reason the prize is heralded internationally", the announcement read, "is because the judges stand as a guarantee of literary weight and seriousness of intent." The judges' backgrounds – as academics, professional writers and journalists – were emphasized as essential to their role as reviewers. "We are all looking forward to the 10 months, 140 novels and many meetings and conversations that lie ahead of us," Macfarlane said, "as we search for the very best of contemporary fiction."


2013 Man Booker Prize, Winner
On 15 October, the chair of the judges Robert Macfarlane announced that the winner of the 2013 Man Booker Prize was New Zealand author Eleanor Catton for her second novel  The Luminaries. By winning, Catton became, at the age of 28, the youngest author ever to win the Booker. She was previously, at the age of 27, the youngest author ever to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. At 832 pages, The Luminaries is also the longest work to win the prize in its 45-year history.


2013 Man Booker Prize, Winner
Catton is the second writer from New Zealand to win the prize, the first being Keri Hulme in 1985 with The Bone People. The judges' final decision was made after around two hours of discussion. Of The Luminaries, Macfarlane commented "It's a dazzling work. It's a luminous work. It is vast without being sprawling." Catton was presented with the prize by the Duchess of Cornwall at Guildhall in London. As winner, Catton also received award money to the sum of £50,000.


2013 Mandera local elections
Local elections were held in Mandera County to elect a Governor and County Assembly on 4 March 2013. Under the new constitution, which was passed in a 2010 referendum, the 2013 general elections were the first in which Governors and members of the County Assemblies for the newly created counties were elected.


2013 Mandera local elections, Prospective candidates
The following are some of the candidates who have made public their intentions to run:


2013 Manila Skyway bus accident
The 2013 Manila Skyway bus accident occurred on December 16, 2013 between Bicutan and Sucat Exits of South Luzon Expressway in Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines, after a bus fell off the Skyway, crushing a delivery van and fatally wounding the van's driver. 19 people died and 19 others were injured. The Highway Patrol Group-National Capital Region-South Luzon Expressway described the incident as the worst to have happened along the Skyway.


2013 Manila Skyway bus accident, Accident
The accident occurred in the Manila suburb of Parañaque on December 16, 2013 at around 5:15 AM (PST). The bus, bound for Pacita Complex in San Pedro, Laguna, was traveling on Skyway, one of the longest flyovers in the world that runs above the South Luzon Expressway. The bus fell 6 meters (20 ft) from Skyway and crashed on top of a van that was on a service road below. Eighteen passengers of the bus were killed. The driver of the bus, Carmelo Calatcat, later died on December 23. As a result of the accident, traffic was slowed down on the highway.


2013 Manila Skyway bus accident, Investigation
The company that owned and operated the bus, Don Mariano Transit, had to suspend transit for thirty days for an investigation into the accident to be carried out. The Department of Transportation and Communications required the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to suspend all of the 78 buses that Don Mariano Transit owned. The driver of the bus, Carmelo Calatcat, had to undergo a drug test. An audit of over 400,000 public utility buses was executed in Manila following the accident. The driver and operator of the bus faced charges by the authorities.


2013 Manila Skyway bus accident, Investigation
The Department of Labor and Employment admitted that Don Mariano Transit Corporation's Labor Standards Compliance Certificate was expired since July 2013. It was also reported that Don Mariano Transit did not pay its drivers their monthly salary.


2013 Manila Skyway bus accident, Investigation
The bus driver, Carmelo Calatcat, tested positive for drug use. Chief Superintendent Arrazad Subong of the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol group said that the drug test was somehow irrelevant as their investigation showed that the bus a few moments before the accident occurred had worn out tires and was overspeeding. The driver faced criminal charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide, multiple injuries and damage to property. Should he be convicted, he could have faced at least six years of imprisonment but due to the number of fatalities caused by the accident, he could have faced life imprisonment instead. However, he died before he could even face trial.


2013 Manila Skyway bus accident, Reaction
Jason Cantil, legal counsel for Don Mariano Transit, said that the accident was an isolated incident. Cantil said that the tires of the bus involved may not have been inspected but claimed that all other buses of the company were in good condition.


2013 Manila Skyway bus accident, Reaction
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. encouraged public utility vehicles to use speed-limiting or monitoring devices. He said that such devices would help bus operators to prevent accidents similar to the Skyway accident. Coloma added that it is up to legislators to come up with a law mandating operators to install such devices to their vehicles. Coloma also reiterated the government's preference for allowing the private sector to operate public transport as it is more efficient. He said the government's role is to regulate the private sector.


2013 Manila Skyway bus accident, Reaction
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board plans to make the installation of speed-limiting devices on public utility vehicles as a response to the accident. The Department of Labor and Employment vowed to monitor labor law compliance more strictly.


2013 Manila local elections
Local elections was held in Manila on May 13, 2013, within the Philippine general election. The voters elected for the elective local posts in the city: the mayor, vice mayor, the six congressmen, and the councilors, six in each of the city's six legislative districts.


2013 Manila local elections
Mayor Alfredo Lim is running for the mayorship for the third consecutive time; if he wins, he will be prohibited to run in 2016 due to term limits. Lim's opponent is former senator, vice president, deposed president then convicted plunderer and defeated 2010 presidential candidate, Joseph Estrada, who was a longtime San Juan mayor; in order to run for the mayorship, Estrada had to transfer his residence from San Juan to Manila. The two formerly contested the presidency in 1998, with Estrada emerging victorious.


2013 Manila local elections
Estrada's running mate is Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, who has served since 2007; if he wins, he will also be term limited in 2016. Actor and Councilor Lou Veloso is Lim's running mate; Veloso was the councilor elected with the highest percentage of votes in 2010.


2013 Manila local elections, Mayoral and vice mayoral election
On May 4, 2012, Vice Mayor Isko Moreno joined the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino party, fueling speculations that he would be former President Joseph Estrada's running mate. Estrada would confirm this on May 9, 2012, but, for one term only. On May 7, 2012, Incumbent Mayor Alfredo Lim announced he will run for re-election and said that Moreno was his original running mate.


2013 Manila local elections, Mayoral and vice mayoral election
A year prior to the election, Estrada transferred  his residence from San Juan to Santa Mesa, Manila; this was made official by the Manila City Hall. Estrada's Manila home was formerly the headquarters of President Ramon Magsaysay during the 1953 presidential election.


2013 Manila local elections, Mayoral and vice mayoral election
On September 18, 2012, Lim announced that he has picked 6th District Councilor Lou Veloso to be his running mate. Lim noted that Veloso is the councilor that emerged with the most votes in the last local elections.


2013 Manila local elections, Mayoral and vice mayoral election
On October 1, 2012, during the first day of filing of certificate of candidacies, Lim and Veloso, along with their ticket's 36 city council bets, filed their certificate of candidacies at the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) field office in Arroceros, Manila. Lim is supported by all but one of the incumbent congressmen of Manila - Benjamin Asilo of the 1st District, Carlo Lopez of the 2nd District, Zenaida Angping of the 3rd District, Trisha Bonoan-David of the 4th District, and Sandy Ocampo of the 6th District. 5th District Representative Amado Bagatsing originally supported him but endorsed Estrada instead.


2013 Manila local elections, Mayoral and vice mayoral election
Lim also said that his 2013 campaign will be his last as he intends to retire from politics in 2016. He had previously served as mayor from 1992 to 1998, Secretary of Interior and Local Government under Estrada from 2000 to 2001, lost the mayorship to Estrada ally Lito Atienza in 2001, elected Senator in 2004 under the Estrada-backed Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino, and retook the mayorship from Atienza's  son Ali  in 2007, then successfully defending it against Atienza himself in 2010.


2013 Manila local elections, Mayoral and vice mayoral election
A day later, Estrada and Moreno filed their certificate of candidacies. Estrada left his home at Santa Mesa with Moreno aboard his jeepney he made famous during the 1998 presidential election. Estrada drove the jeepney to the COMELEC office at Arroceros; the United Nationalist Alliance-backed Estrada ticket includes 29 of the incumbent 36 councilors. The contest between Lim and Estrada has been billed by many as "Dirty Harry vs. Asiong Salonga", with Lim being previously referred to as "Dirty Harry", and Estrada having played Asiong Salonga in a movie.


2013 Manila local elections, Mayoral and vice mayoral election
Aside from Lim and Estrada, other candidates include Marino Magallanes, a fortune teller from Quiapo, mechanical engineer and perennial candidate Onofre Abad, lawyer Felix Cantal, Samuel Gabot, Rodolfo Lim and driver Fidel Cruz.


2013 Manila local elections, Mayoral and vice mayoral election
On January 7, 2013, the Sandiganbayan ruled to dismiss via technicality a petition disqualifying Estrada from running due to a condition from his pardon granted by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that said he would not seek elective office. However, he faced other disqualification cases from the same issue at the Commission on Elections and at the Regional Trial Court.


2013 Manila local elections, Mayoral and vice mayoral election
On January 16, the commission disqualified all of the mayoral candidates, save for Estrada and Lim, and declared them as "nuisance candidates."