Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was sworn in for a second term on Monday, after winning the 13th Malaysian general election.

Out of 222 parliamentary seats, Razak’s Barisan Nasional or National Front coalition won 133, two seats fewer than in 2008, according to the Election Commission. Despite BN’s 56-year rule, popularity for the party continues to decline, with 2008 being the first year BN didn’t hold a two-thirds majority in Parliament, BBC News Asia reports.

Sunday’s election faced fraudulent claims by defeated opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, whose coalition, Pakatan Rakyat or People’s Pact, won 89 seats. Ibrahim called the election “the worst electoral fraud in our history.”

According to the election results, BN lost the popular vote, the first time a leader won with a minority of the ballots in four decades.

Ibrahim said he and other opposition leaders are considering protesting the election, but they haven’t decided which action to take.

Opposition supporters were “bitter” after hoping the election would bring a historic change of government, according to Al Jazeera.

Najib also said the continued trend of ethnic Chinese deserting BN, “had laid bare deep racial divisions in the majority Malay country,” Al Jazeera reported.

However, the Financial Times reported that Razak is more popular than his party.

Sensing the public’s dissatisfaction with “crony politics” prior to the election cycle, Razak eased some of the repressive government policies and gained favor with Malays. Najib repealed the Internal Security Act, making it easier for people to protest.

Despite Najib’s popular strategy, he made clear his contempt for the electorate and his belief that people need a “firm guiding hand.”

“Asians like to be democratic, but they don’t really understand democracy,” Najib said, according to the Financial Times.