KUALA LUMPUR : POOR voter turnout in the final leg of the PKR polls next month will likely ensure Azmin Ali’s incumbency as the party’s No. 2.
The battle is centred between Azmin and his rival, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, with the former leading with a vote majority of 3,458.
This shows that Khalid would need at least 3,800 votes to secure a slim majority against Azmin.
A higher voter turnout may provide a better chance for Khalid to achieve a vote majority.
However, party election chairman Datuk Johari Abdul expects that only 4,000 voters at the most will cast their ballots in the final leg of the polls, which will be held at the Kelana Jaya and Puchong PKR branches on Aug 10.
“Puchong has 7,200 registered voters, while Kelana Jaya has 7,100 voters.
“I think only 2,000 from each branch will turn up,” he said yesterday.
So far, only an average of 20 per cent of voters have participated in the electoral process nationwide.
Poor voter turnout is one of the chief concerns that plague the party polls.
Other issues include much-publicised discrepancies in the polls process, such as allegations of vote-rigging, as well as bribery and hooliganism.
These issues have led to fresh polls after the PKR election committee announced the postponement or annulment of results at 27 branch elections.
In the electoral run, which has been lengthened to three months, Azmin is leading the race for the deputy’s post.
As of yesterday, the latest results posted on the party’s website showed Azmin polling 21,066 votes, while Khalid trailed in second place with 17,608 votes.
Outgoing secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail managed to garner only 9,944 votes.
Earlier, Johari had said there was a need to improve the current “one member, one vote” polling system.
He agreed that the system was susceptible to discrepancies resulting from confusion, especially among “illiterate” members.
“Something... must be rectified. For example, if a member cannot read (what is printed on) the ballot paper, we must determine who can mark it on his behalf.”
Several leaders, including incumbent vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar and her mother, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, have called for the system to be reviewed.
The final results and formal appointments will be announced during the party’s congress, which will be held from Aug 22 to 24 at Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam.
Meanwhile, PKR disciplinary board chairman Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong, in a statement, said Kuala Langat member of parliament Abdullah Sani, from the Kuala Langat PKR branch, had been issued a show-cause letter for having his statement on Khalid published in Berita Harian.
Tan said another three members had been suspended from the party for breaching electoral ethics.
They are Vasantha Kumar Krishnan from the Hulu Langat branch, Saifuddin Shafi Muhammad (Hulu Selangor) and Nor Asmah Baharuddin (Bandar Tun Razak).
