Early indications from the election in Malaysia suggest a setback for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's National Front coalition.
The ruling coalition in Malaysia has suffered a major election setback by winning with only a simple parliamentary majority, say election officials.
His hopes of winning the only state under opposition control, Kelantan, have been dashed, reports say.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's National Front coalition had been expected to win, but it has lost control of at least three states.
Mr Badawi's large majority in the federal parliament is also expected to be cut.
The Election Commission said the coalition had so far won 112 of the 165 seats in the 222-member parliament.
Analysts are blaming inflation, rising crime and increasing ethnic tensions for a drop in his popularity.
Analysts blame ethnic tensions, crime,
The opposition Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS) controls Kelantan by a one seat majority in the state legislature.
and inflation for a drop in popularity.
Penang
Before the elections, the coalition held a two thirds majority in parliament and only one state was under opposition control, Kelantan.
But Roslan Shahir, a party spokesman, said it would increase its majority considerably and "form the next Kelantan government."
The Election Commission confirmed opposition wins in the states of Kedah, Penang and Kelantan, but other results were still being counted.
The head of Mr Badawi's party in Kelantan, Annuar Musa, conceded the party was not doing well "not just in Kelantan but across the country."
Former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who leads the opposition Justice Party, claimed earlier that opposition parties were on course to win five of the 13 states.
Reports from another state, Penang, also suggest the governing party is doing badly. An official in the National Front coalition there told Associated Press that it looked as if the opposition would take over control of the state legislature.
Ethnic minorities
Most of the few official results declared so far have gone in favour of the prime minister's coalition, but the National Front's new target of a two-thirds majority in the federal parliament now appears to be under threat, says the BBC's Robin Brant in Kuala Lumpur.
The head of Mr Badawi's party in Kelantan, Annuar Musa, conceded the party was not doing well "not just in Kelantan but across the country".
Mr Badawi has enjoyed a huge majority up till now after winning more than 90% of seats at the last general election.
Voters are concerned about price rises and ethnic tensions
Growing tensions between minority communities and the Malay majority have dominated the election campaign and correspondents say ethnic Indian and Chinese voters have deserted the government in large numbers.
Mr Badawi said before voting began that he did not want a government "made up of only one race" after polls indicated his Chinese and Indian coalition allies might fare badly. Ethnic minorities make up more than a third of the population.
Many complain that government policy has denied them fair access to jobs, education, and housing.
Mr Ibrahim has accused the government of widespread vote-rigging. But an election observer in at least one area said there had been no major irregularities there.
Clashes
Clashes
Some violence linked to the election has been reported in the east of the country.
Some violence linked to the election was reported in the east of the country on Saturday.
Police in Terennganu State said they had fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of several hundred people protesting at what they saw as vote-rigging.
Police in Terennganu State said they had fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of several hundred people protesting at what they saw as vote-rigging.
Voters are concerned about price rises and ethnic tensions
Supporters of the opposition PAS stopped buses they suspected of carrying National Front coalition supporters pretending to be voters from the district, said local police chief Ayob Yaacob.
Supporters of the opposition PAS stopped buses they suspected of carrying National Front coalition supporters pretending to be voters from the district, said local police chief Ayob Yaacob.
He said 22 people were arrested and the rest of the crowd ran away.
He said 22 people were arrested and the rest of the crowd ran away.
Prime Minister Badawi said before voting began that he did not want a government "made up of only one race" after polls indicated his Chinese and Indian coalition allies might fare badly. Ethnic minorities make up more than a third of the population.
'Racial discrimination'
The Justice Party, led by the former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, was also hoping to benefit from disaffection with the government.
Mr Ibrahim, who is banned from holding office after being jailed for corruption in a trial he says was politically motivated, has promised to end racial discrimination if his Justice Party wins.
"We want strong Malays, strong Chinese, strong Indians," he told a campaign rally on Thursday night.
Many ethnic minorities complain that government policy has denied them fair access to jobs, education, and housing.
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Are you in Malaysia? Did you vote? What are your expectations from the election? Send us your comments by filling out the form below.
