Pakatan Harapan, alongside its political partner in the unity government, Barisan Nasional, is expected to retain control of Negri Sembilan with a two-thirds majority when some 860,000 registered voters in the state go to the polls today.
The combined strength of two of the country's three main political coalitions, which command strong followers at the grassroots level, is expected to provide the advantage for the pact and prevent the so-called "green wave" phenomenon, often propagated as "a wave of discontent towards Umno" by Perikatan Nasional, from sweeping the state.
The narrative being pushed by Pas and its allies in Perikatan Nasional (PN) during the campaigning for the polls over the past two weeks, which centred around the unhappiness among the Malays on the Umno-DAP political cooperation, is expected not to bring much impact in convincing the people that the opposition is the better alternative to the parties in the unity government.
Seremban-based political analyst Mujibu Abdul Muis listed a number of factors to justify his reasoning that the Negri Sembilan election will not likely conclude in favour of PN.
"Pas and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia lack strength and support at the grassroots level. This is why the so-called 'wave' (of discontent) among the Malays and Muslims (linked to Pas and PN) did not reach Negri Sembilan.
"Compounding the situation is the absence of a PN 'poster boy' (menteri besar candidate) in Negri Sembilan, which leaves the people wondering and pondering the future and direction of the state if they vote for the opposition.
"In contrast to PN, both PH-BN have strong followers and support at the grassroots level to enable the pact to secure a two-thirds majority in the polls," said the fellow at the Institution of Malay Rulers Chair, Universiti Teknologi Mara.
Mujibu, who is also a fellow at research consultancy Ilham Centre, did not rule out the possibility of PH-BN even creating a total knockout of PN by making a clean sweep of all 36 constituencies up for grabs.
"As of today (Friday), there are no seats with a 50-50 reading when it comes to the sentiment of the people on the ground.
"The outcome of the polls may change if there is a wave (of discontent) among young voters. Having said that, the number of eligible voters among the younger generation is not that significant in Negri Sembilan."
However, some observers believe otherwise, factoring in the possible change in the mood and sentiment among the people over the past eight months.
They pointed out that infighting within the parties may be costly for the PH-BN pact in at least six seats, including Ampangan, Lenggeng and even Jeram Padang.
"These seats are considered risky not because PN is strong but due to the internal disputes and clashes within the respective contesting parties in the unity government.
"For example, the decision and the treatment by PKR in replacing Datuk Dr Mohamad Rafie Abdul Malek, who is now contesting as an independent, with another candidate, may reduce the chances of the party retaining the seat.
"Rafie is a strong and well-known figure in Ampangan. He was the state executive councillor in charge of investment," said one observer who asked to remain anonymous.
Compounding the situation is the on-again-off-again minor disagreement between PH and BN over who will be the next Negri Sembilan menteri besar.
While PKR and DAP had made it clear that they wanted caretaker Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun to continue helming the post, BN is showing signs of resistance, although both coalitions have agreed to form a unity government after the polls.
This follows a statement of state Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias who said the matter would only be decided after the polls; between the top leadership in BN and PH.
The failure of both parties to reach a consensus on who would be the state's "chief executive officer", therefore, shows that there still remains a weakness in the cooperation between BN and PH.
This had led to subsequent concerns that vote transfers among the supporters of the coalitions may not happen in the polls.