PKR polls ‘flawed’, Khalid Ibrahim says after Kuala Selangor loss
(Malay Mail Online) – Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim suggested today that “flaws” in PKR’s election process had forced his loss in the race for the position of Kuala Selangor division chief.
The Selangor Mentri Besar would not say if this meant he believed there was sabotage in the vote-counting process, but urged for a thorough investigation to prove there had been none.
“I joined PKR as I wanted to be a part of a party that championed the rights of the people in line with democratic values.
“But sadly, I see some flaws, especially in the process of counting votes and this is a serious issue for a party like PKR.
“How would you feel if people count votes in the dark?” he was quoted as saying in The Star Online today after a function in Pulau Indah.
Last weekend, Khalid, who is also vying for the position of PKR deputy president, lost by a wide berth in the tussle for the Kuala Selangor PKR division polls, as former Kapar MP S. Manickavasagam was voted in as division chief with a majority of nearly 200 votes.
PKR election committee chairman Datuk Johari Abdul had earlier confirmed there was a power outage during the vote tallying process, but denied there was any tampering of voters, The Star Online reported.
Manickavasagam, who was recently reinstated as a party member, secured 701 votes against Khalid’s tally of 515 votes to take the post.
Manickavasagam was suspended last month while the party’s powerful political bureau investigated claims that he had contravened PKR election rules by speaking out against Khalid to the media.
The former federal lawmaker was earlier reported by national news wire Bernama as claiming that Khalid had allegedly engaged in money politics in the ongoing party polls.
The party’s political bureau, however, decided to tone down the penalty on Manickavasagam after hearing his side of the story, opting to instead slap him with a stern warning over his indiscretion.
Despite the setback, Khalid earned a consolation by besting deputy presidential rival and incumbent Azmin Ali, who received 440 votes, while outgoing secretary-general and fellow deputy presidential hopeful Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail managed 50 votes.
The Kuala Selangor division was among 27 divisions that had to redo the polls process following numerous complaints of irregularities.
The party polls was supposed to have ended on May 11 with nearly 500,000 members nationwide casting their votes for the national and divisional leadership, but has since been extended to August 10.
