In a Facebook post, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar said he signed the dissolution notice after granting an audience to Johor menteri besar Hasni Mohammad.

An election must be held within 60 days of the dissolution, which means that it must take place on or before March 23.

There was talk in recent weeks that an election could be on the cards, with the Barisan Nasional-led (BN) government’s majority reduced to a solitary seat following the death of Bersatu’s Kempas assemblyman Osman Sapian last month.

After Melaka and Sarawak went to the polls in November and December respectively, Johor will be the third state to hold an election in less than six months.

Many BN leaders had spoken about the need for an election to capitalise on the momentum from victories in Melaka and Sarawak, through the coalition’s ties with GPS.

Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed said on Wednesday that the government was in a “precarious position” following Osman’s death and said now was the time for the polls as Umno was in pole position to come out victorious.

“The opposition is afraid because they know that Umno is in a position of strength, not weakness. The results from the Melaka polls was proof of this. We got an excellent result,” he told CNA.

Selangor BN information chief Isham Jalil has predicted that the coalition could secure between 32 and 42 seats in the 56-seat Johor state assembly.