The rally was held by various Malaysian opposition-friendly non-governmental organisations and opposition parties claiming that there had been irregularities in the polling.

Web sites and blogs favourable to the opposition claimed that the rally was attended by 120,000 people.

[2] Noting that the stadium's normal capacity is about 25,000, other sources estimated the number of people in and around it to be between 64,000 and 69,000.

In the rally Anwar Ibrahim urged opposition supporters to wear black as a sign of protest.

[4] Anwar Ibrahim and other Democratic Action Party (DAP) leaders present at the rally raised issues such as phantom voters, blackouts and the usage of indelible ink by the Malaysian Election Commission.