The Concept of Free and Fair Elections from Islamic Perspective: The Conduct of Malaysian 13 th General Elections as a Case Study Muhammad Fathi Yusof Centre for Research on Fiqh Sciences and Technology (CFiRST) University of Technology, Malaysia (UTM) Kuala Lumpur Campus, 54100 Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: +6013-6669669 E-mail: fathi@ic.utm.my Abdul Latiff Mohd Ibrahim UTM PERDANA School of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, University of Technology, Malaysia (UTM) Kuala Lumpur Campus, 54100 Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Wan Ali Wan Jusoh UTM KL Islamic Centre, University of Technology, Malaysia (UTM) Kuala Lumpur Campus, 54100 Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Abstract The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the existing universal standard of election particularly the concept of free and fair election with is Islamic constitutional and political principles of justice, equality, al-syura, al-khilafah etc. The study will also aimed at analysing critically the available indices on freedom and democracy to provide some insight on the current status of democratic exercises in Muslim countries particularly Malaysia. The awareness on democratic rights is overwhelmingly improved. There are many official and unofficial documents that offer views and ideas on the quality of election but the thorough discussions on the concept of free and fair elections according to Islamic principles are very limited. Islamic principle of free and fair elections can be a practical guideline for election management body, political parties, election monitoring group, and the government particularly in Muslim democratic countries. The discussion in the paper will covers concept of free and fair elections, international standard of election, relationship between Islam and democratic election, relevant Islamic constitutional principles, democratic elections in Muslim countries and analysis the 13 th General Elections. Keywords: Elections; Democracy; Free and Fair Elections; Islam and democracy; Islam and justice; standard of elections. Introduction The term ‘free and fair’ becomes important catchphrase to explain the standards of democratic election and to measure the success of an election. Normally this term include the requirement that an election must be periodic, sustainable, transparent, and genuine. Besides the fact that the terms like ‘free’ and ‘fair’ have no easily verifiable content and often being used subjectively, they have been accepted as the simplest way to explain complicated and so much debated standards of democratic elections. The term not only widely used by popular mass media, but also widely referred to in