GE13: Intense horse-trading among PKR hopefuls
(The Star) – With just less than a day until the Election Commission (EC) announces the polling and nomination dates for GE13, PKR saw intense horse-trading by candidate hopefuls.
The PKR headquarters here was abuzz yesterday with potential candidates jostling and doing some last-minute lobbying for a place in the general election.
Journalists had also taken to camping out below the headquarters, waiting for any announcement from the party over the finalisation of their seat allocations as well as the candidates’ list.
Party deputy president Azmin Ali had previously said that the seat negotiations between Pakatan Rakyat parties would conclude earlier this week before the the EC’s announcement of the nomination and polling dates today.
However, it was not to be as it is understood that several seats in Johor, Sabah and Sarawak are still in contention.
This has not stopped many of the party’s elected representatives as well as potential candidates from lining up to meet PKR’s top guns president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Azmin.
Both Anwar and Dr Wan Azizah, who were seen leaving the building together, were tight lipped over the candidates, with the president blaming her sore throat for declining to answer questions.
“This is just PKR’s meeting on the general elections,” said Anwar.
Meanwhile, Azmin told reporters that Pakatan should conclude their talks today, adding that they were already “so close” with less than 10 seats still in contention.
“That I think is already quite an achievement. We only have less than 10 seats left out of all the 222 parliamentary seats and 505 state seats in the country,” he said, playing down talks of discord within Pakatan.
However, he expressed surprise when told that PAS had announced most of their candidates.
Negotiations with former Barisan Nasional men Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing‘s Angkatan Perubahan Sabah and Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin‘s Pertubuhan Pakatan Perubahan Sabah had also concluded and they would announce their candidates on Thursday and Friday, added Azmin.
