 Amid retaining his Kimanis seat for the fourth consecutive term in the 2018 general election (GE14) which saw the downfall of BN's federal and state governments, Anifah announced his resignation from UMNO to be an independent MP in September 2018.On 16 August 2019, the Malaysian Election Court however has voided his win in the GE14 after the court found serious discrepancies in the conduct of the election process by the Election Commission (EC).He decided not to contest the 2020 Kimanis by-election called to focus on the subsequent 15th General Election instead.