Kuala Lumpur: Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said he expects to be sworn in as prime minister on Thursday because his opposition coalition has the support of the majority of members of parliament.

Mahathir said his coalition will have the support of 135 members of Malaysia’s 222-seat parliament, after Wednesday’s general election, and is entitled to form a government.

‘There is an urgency here, we need to form the government now, today,’ Mahathir told reporters.

Mahathir’s bloc defeated the long-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in the Wednesday polls. The BN has ruled since Malaysia’s independence from Britain, nearly 60 years ago.