The first municipal election in Kuala Lumpur was held on 16 February 1952. An ''ad hoc'' alliance between the Malay UMNO and Chinese MCA party candidates won a majority of the seats contested, and their success led to the formation of the Alliance Party (later the Barisan Nasional). On 31 August 1957, the Federation of Malaya gained its independence from British rule. The British flag was lowered and the Malayan flag was raised for the first time at the Padang on the midnight of 30 August 1957, and in the morning of 31 August, the ceremony for the Declaration of Independence was held at the Merdeka Stadium by the first Prime Minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman. Kuala Lumpur remained the capital after the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. The Malaysian Houses of Parliament was completed at the edge of the Lake Gardens in 1963.