Malaysia will head to the polls on November 19, officials said on Thursday, after the prime minister called for a snap election to restore political stability.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved parliament earlier in October and called for the vote a year ahead of schedule to shore up his slim majority in the 222-member legislature.

The "election date is November 19," Election Commission Chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said at a press conference.

Nomination day for candidates will be on November 5, with 97-year-old former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad among those expected to join the fray.

Ismail's UMNO, the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, will contest the polls head-on with its bitter rival Pakatan Harapan alliance led by veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Others in the fray include a host of Malay-based parties, including Pejuang which is led by Mahathir, who has said he will be available to become prime minister for the third time.

Ismail is the third prime minister Malaysia has had in four years, underscoring the political instability that followed the last general elections in 2018.

UMNO had suffered a shock defeat amid allegations of massive corruption linked to state fund 1MDB.

Then prime minister Najib Razak, embroiled in the scandal involving billions of dollars allegedly pilfered from the sovereign wealth fund, was ousted, charged with corruption and convicted after a lengthy trial.

In August, he started serving a 12-year jail sentence for the initial batch of charges, although he faces dozens more that could keep him in prison longer.

"This is a crucial election because they are electing a government that will bring Malaysia out of the pandemic and back to normality," said James Chin, a Malaysia expert at the University of Tasmania.

UMNO, which returned to power in 2021 due to political infighting in the previous governments, expects to win big and cement its rule.