Malaysia's veteran ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad, 92, won a shock election victory today, in a political earthquake that toppled the country's scandal-plagued premier and ousted a regime that has ruled for over six decades.

It was a stunning triumph that almost no one had predicted which ended the long hold on power of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which has ruled Malaysia since its birth as an independent country in 1957.

The victory capped a dramatic political comeback for Mahathir. A former doctor who entered politics in 1964, Mahathir governed Malaysia with an iron fist for 22 years, with accusations of rights abuses overshadowing a period that also saw Malaysia transform from a sleepy Southeast Asian backwater into a relatively affluent country.

Mahathir’s falling out with his protégé – the current prime minister and the accusations against Razak of misappropriating huge sums from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB led the nonagenarian to come out of retirement.

When he takes power, at 92-year-old Mahathir will be the oldest prime minister in the world. His victory spells trouble for Najib – as Mahathir has vowed to bring him to justice over allegations that billions of dollars were looted from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, which the scandal-plagued leader set up and oversaw. But at a press conference, Mahathir said, "We are not seeking revenge. We want to restore the rule of law."

Mahathir's return to the political frontlines saw him throw in his lot with an opposition alliance filled with parties that he crushed while in power, and which includes jailed opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim -- his former nemesis. It was a gamble for the opposition coalition Pact of Hope to join forces with Mahathir, who is a divisive figure in the country. He is remembered fondly by some as a champion of country's Muslim Malay majority and the father of modern Malaysia, credited with policies that helped the economy blossom. But he was also criticised for disregarding human rights, undermining the judiciary, jailing political opponents and pushing policies that exacerbated racial divisions in the multi-ethnic country. He was notorious for his acid-tongued attacks on his foes and what he saw as Western neo-colonialism -- in one outburst, he described Europeans as greedy, warmongering sexual deviants.

As well as seizing control of the national government, several state legislatures across the country fell into opposition hands for the first time, including the highly symbolic bastion of Johor, the birthplace of Najib's party that was the lynchpin of the ruling coalition. Official results from the Election Commission showed that Mahathir's opposition grouping Pakatan Harapan, along with an ally in the Borneo state of Sabah, had secured 115 parliamentary seats. 112 are needed to form a government. BN were on 79 seats with just a few left to count.

As it became clear that Mahathir had won, supporters took to the streets waving flags of the opposition alliance. After polls closed earlier in the day, journalists had flocked to the headquarters of Najib's United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the lynchpin in the ruling coalition -- but he failed to turn up to give a victory speech and the media were told to leave.

The voter turnout put at over 70% by the Straits Times propelled Mahathir to power, despite Najib having called the election on a weekday in what critics said was a bid to keep voter turnout low.

The BN wipeout is a disaster for Najib, who had been under pressure to score an emphatic win after the government lost the popular vote for the first time at the last elections in 2013. The controversy surrounding 1MDB has dogged Najib since the story exploded in 2015. The leader and 1MDB deny any wrongdoing.

But in rural areas, the rising cost of living, which has hit poor Malays hard, was the main concern at the election particularly after the introduction of an unpopular sales tax in 2015. (With Agency inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 10, 2018 02:54 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).