| Election Name: | 2008 Kedah state election |
| Country: | Kedah |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Year: | 2004 |
| Election Date: | 8 March 2008 |
| Next Year: | 2013 |
| Seats For Election: | All 36 seats in the Kedah State Legislative Assembly |
| Majority Seats: | 19 |
| Turnout: | 00000 |
| Registered: | 2,937,490 |
| Previous Mps: | List of Malaysian State Assembly Representatives (2004–2008)#Kedah |
| Elected Mps: | members elected |
| Colour1: | 009000 |
| Leader1: | Azizan Abdul Razak |
| Party1: | PAS |
| Alliance1: | DAP-PAS-PKR coalition (informal) |
| Leader Since1: | 2003 |
| Leaders Seat1: | Sungai Limau |
| Last Election1: | 5 |
| Seats Needed1: | 14 |
| Seats1: | 16 |
| Seat Change1: | 11 |
| Popular Vote1: | 250,028 |
| Percentage1: | 35.80% |
| Leader2: | Mahdzir Khalid |
| Leader Since2: | 2005 |
| Party2: | UMNO |
| Alliance2: | Barisan Nasional |
| Colour2: | 000080 |
| Leaders Seat2: | Pedu |
| Popular Vote2: | 322,358 |
| Percentage2: | 46.15% |
| Last Election2: | 31 |
| Seats2: | 14 |
| Seat Change2: | 17 |
| Colour3: | 00 |
| Leader3: | Johari Abdul |
| Party3: | PKR |
| Alliance3: | DAP-PAS-PKR coalition (informal) |
| Leader Since3: | 2007 |
| Leaders Seat3: | Not contesting |
| Last Election3: | 0 |
| Seats Needed3: | 19 |
| Seats3: | 4 |
| Seat Change3: | 4 |
| Popular Vote3: | 85,223 |
| Percentage3: | 12.20% |
| Colour4: | FF0000 |
| Leader4: | Liew Kard Seong |
| Party4: | DAP |
| Alliance4: | DAP-PAS-PKR coalition (informal) |
| Leader Since4: | 2006[1] |
| Leaders Seat4: | Not contesting |
| Last Election4: | 0 |
| Seats Needed4: | 19 |
| Seats4: | 1 |
| Seat Change4: | 1 |
| Popular Vote4: | 7,510 |
| Percentage4: | 1.08% |
| Menteri Besar | |
| Before Election: | Mahdzir Khalid |
| Before Party: | Barisan Nasional (UMNO) |
| After Election: | Azizan Abdul Razak |
| After Party: | Pakatan Rakyat (PAS) |
The 12th Kedah state election was held on 8 March 2008. Polling took place in 36 constituencies throughout the Malaysian state of Kedah, with each electing a State Assemblyman to the Kedah State Legislative Assembly. The election was conducted by the Malaysian Election Commission. The state election was held concurrently with the 2008 Malaysian general election.
In a historic result, the incumbent government from Barisan Nasional (BN) was handed an unprecedented and shocking defeat by the opposition, the first time Kedah's ruling party from BN or is predecessor Alliance Party was voted out of power since the start of the state elections in 1955. The informal coalition of Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) won 21 seats out of the 36 seats, gaining a simple majority in the Kedah State Legislative Assembly.
As the party with the most seats in the winning DAP-PAS-PKR coalition, PAS has the priority in choosing the new Menteri Besar. Azizan Abdul Razak, the PAS Kedah Commissioner and MLA for Sungai Limau, was selected by the coalition to be its candidate, and were sworn in on the next day, in front of the Sultan of Kedah. The EXCO members consisting of 7 PAS MLA and 3 PKR MLA, were sworn in on 12 March; the sole MLA from DAP, the other party in the coalition, was excluded.[2] [3]
The sole independent candidate who won the Bukit Selambau seat, V. Arumugam joined PKR days after the election, bringing the PKR MLAs to 5 and total MLA in the DAP-PAS-PKR coalition to 22. But in 2009, Arumugam resigned from his state seat, triggering the 2009 Bukit Selambau by-election; PKR retained the seat by winning the by-election.
The DAP-PKR-PAS coalition were later known as Pakatan Rakyat from 1 April 2008.[4]