PKR mulls postponing party polls

(The Star) – PKR may postpone its elections due to be held this November to reconsolidate its support base.

Party secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (picture) said the political bureau had discussed the suggestion to put off party polls.

“We just went through a big battle in the general election, and having the elections in November may be too soon as they take up a lot of time and energy.

“There are views within the leadership to reconsolidate our support base and to close ranks first … maybe that could be reason enough to postpone our elections,” he told a press conference at the party headquarters here yesterday.

“We are currently considering both options to have our elections in November as planned or to postpone the polls,” he said.

He added that the supreme council will be discussing the matter further after the party’s annual congress, postponed from last year, ends this weekend.

Saifuddin said that if the leadership wanted to postpone the party elections, it would have to convene a special congress to amend the constitution, which now only provides for triennial elections. The last party elections were in 2010.

Saifuddin, who coordinated the previous party elections, said that he was getting feedback to improve the polling process.

Previously, he said, the members had to meet twice to elect their leaders first to elect their division leaders and then to elect the supreme council members.

“The grassroots members say that this is double mobilisation and it takes up too much time, and they are asking if we could vote for both at once,” he said. “But a change in procedure would require a constitutional amendment.”

He also said the ninth annual congress to be held here this Saturday would see 2,500 delegates from 221 divisions nationwide attending the one-day event.

The Youth and Wanita wings will meet on Friday.

Saifuddin said the theme of the congress was Suara Rakyat, Suara Keramat (The Voice of the People, The Supreme Voice).