Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has won a landslide victory in a special parliamentary election, strengthening his campaign to topple the government and become the next prime minister despite facing sodomy charges.

The official count Tuesday showed Anwar defeated the governing coalition’s candidate for a seat in a semi-rural district in the northern industrial state of Penang. It was the only seat contested in the special election, triggered when Anwar’s wife vacated the seat to clear the way for his election to Parliament.

“This is the people’s victory,” Anwar, 61, said in a victory speech to thousands of supporters who chanted “Anwar PM,” “Freedom” and “Reforms.”

“Permatang Pauh has given a clear signal to the leadership of this country. We demand change. We want freedom. We don’t want to live with corruption and oppression,” he said.

Parliament Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia said Anwar would be formally sworn in as a lawmaker Thursday. This would allow him to attend Parliament for a key session Friday, when Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announces the annual budget.

Anwar’s re-entry into Parliament will formally complete the political rehabilitation of a man who was fired as deputy prime minister in 1998 and jailed for six years after he was convicted of corruption and sodomizing his family driver.

Anwar is now facing trial on new charges that he sodomized a male aide in June. He calls the latest sodomy charge “most sickening” and a politically motivated attack.

Sodomy is punishable by up to 20 years in jail in Malaysia and no date has been set for the trial.

Anwar’s previous sodomy conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2004. He has always maintained that he was framed by his boss, then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, because of a power struggle.

He says the latest charge is also a conspiracy by Mahathir’s successor, Abdullah, to prevent him from becoming prime minister. Abdullah denies it.

“This vote means Malaysians want the truth,” Anwar said after voting. “It is Anwar versus the entire government. God willing, I am confident of winning.”

Thousands of Anwar supporters had gathered outside the counting center awaiting the results, watched by large contingents of riot police.

The Election Commission said final results gave Anwar 31,195 votes while his rival, Arif Shah Omar Shah, got 15,524 of the 47,258 votes cast. A third candidate got 92 votes. Turnout was impressive at 81 percent.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who led Arif Shah’s campaign, said the government respects the election result.

“There is no handicap in the practice of democracy in this country,” he said.

The single seat that Anwar won will not change the balance of power. But he has vowed to persuade enough lawmakers from the governing National Front to defect so he can bring down the government by Sept. 16.

In March 8 general elections, Anwar’s three-party opposition alliance won an unprecedented 82 of parliament’s 222 seats _ 30 short of a majority _ as well as control of five states. But Anwar could not run because of a ban on holding political office stemming from his previous corruption conviction. The ban expired in April.

His wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, won the Permatang Pauh district in March, but resigned the seat to allow Anwar to contest it.

Domestic Trade Minister Shahrir Samad, a member of the ruling party’s policy-making council, said Anwar’s victory was not a major blow to the government.

“It was his home ground, so that was always an advantage because he has a lot of support there,” Shahrir told The Associated Press. “We expected him to win. This just proves there is nothing wrong with our electoral system. But I still doubt he will be able to pull off his Sept. 16 threat.”

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Associated Press writers Vijay Joshi and Sean Yoong contributed to this report.