KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Malaysian pro-democracy leader Anwar Ibrahim was formally pardoned and released Wednesday after serving nearly five years in detention on what he says was a trumped-up sodomy conviction, freeing him up to succeed Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad after his stunning election win last week.
Mr. Mahathir, who is 92, promised to arrange the pardon during the election campaign and said he would hand power to Mr. Anwar once he secures a seat in the country’s Parliament. The country’s king previously agreed to...