PKR central election committee chairman Dr Zaliha Mustafa has denied that the postponement of its central leadership council nominations for the upcoming polls was in any way linked to Rafizi Ramli taking leave from his duties as economy minister.
She explained that the decision to delay the nominations was made by the party’s central leadership to allow more time for preparations ahead of the national congress later this month.
“Due to recent constitutional amendments, there are several new requirements that we must fulfil. For example, the delegates list (must be updated) and so on, as it is based on the percentage of votes secured by each candidate for the youth wing and women’s wing.
“More time is needed to complete these preparations, and we are working closely with the secretary-general’s office.
“Of course, it has nothing to do with Rafizi, as the prime minister (Anwar Ibrahim) has already said, taking leave is normal,” she told a press conference after an event today.
Zaliha’s comments came in response to questions about the reasons for the delay and whether it was related to Rafizi’s time off.
PKR president Anwar Ibrahim yesterday addressed the issue, calling Rafizi’s leave a “non-issue” and joking that he himself was looking forward to having a few days off.
Shortly after, PKR announced in a statement that the nominations for the central leadership council elections would be postponed from May 3 and 4 to May 8 and 9, without providing further details.
Allegations of irregularities have plagued PKR’s divisional elections following the implementation of a blockchain-based voting system, while the party has appointed independent auditors to look into the complaints.
Its election committee has held fresh polls for four divisions following objections by defeated candidates and the discovery that one winner was still a member of Pejuang, a party led by Mukhriz Mahathir.
Several Cabinet members, MPs and state assemblymen, including PKR vice-presidents Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, K Saraswathy, Akmal Nasir and Adam Adli lost in the divisional elections.
Some of these individuals are reportedly aligned with PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli. Malaysiakini recently reported that Rafizi denied he had quit his ministerial post after he took leave from his duties.
Zaliha also confirmed that the independent auditors had visited PKR’s offices and are reviewing the election process.
“We’ve handed over everything they requested. God willing, we’ll receive their report in a few days,” she said.
