It is understood that leaders of political parties are actively holding negotiations at the Sabah chief minister’s official residence in Sri Gaya as well as several other locations, Bernama reported.

If negotiations can be finalised by midnight, the swearing-in ceremony for the new chief minister is expected to be held early tomorrow morning at Istana Seri Kinabalu.

Warisan president Shafie Apdal was seen at the Avangio hotel in Kota Kinabalu; among those present was his brother Yusof Apdal, a federal deputy minister.

Two vehicles believed to be carrying Upko honorary president Wilfred Madius Tangau and Upko president Ewon Benedick were seen entering the route leading to the chief minister’s official residence and Istana Seri Kinabalu.

A vehicle believed to be carrying Sabah state secretary Safar Untong was also seen entering the Istana Seri Kinabalu compound.

Only 22 seats out of 73 have been declared at 11pm, but unofficial results put Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) leading with 29 seats, while its closest challenger, Warisan has 23 seats. The other seats are between Barisan Nasional (8) Upko (3), and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) (2), Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) (1), Pakatan Harapan (1) and Perikatan Nasional (1). There are also five independent candidates who won.

Based on these results, Upko, STAR, KDM and the five independents are said to hold the key towards forming the new government.

The Sabah state assembly has 73 elected seats. A simple majority of 37 seats is required to form the state government.

BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said in a statement BN is prepared to work with like-minded parties to form a new Sabah state government for continued political stability.

“The future of Sabah requires the commitment of all parties, and BN will continue to play a constructive role to ensure the state progresses towards development and prosperity,” he said.