Azmin’s faction to dominate leadership line-up?
Sources say 15 of 20 leading candidates for council posts are aligned to him
FIFTEEN out of the 20 candidates for central leadership council posts are allies of the incumbent deputy president, say sources. PKR elections enter the final stretch this weekend.
AS the PKR elections enter the final stretch this weekend, the camp spearheaded by Datuk Seri Azmin Ali looks set to dominate the party’s central leadership council line-up.
Party sources said the majority of leading candidates entering the final leg were allies of Azmin, who is defending his deputy president’s post.
Fifteen out of the 20 candidates running for central leadership council posts are Azmin’s allies. The remaining five are linked to Rafizi Ramli, who is challenging Azmin.
The source, however, declined to specify which individual was linked to which camp. But observers noted that “big names” were expected to sweep the available council posts.
Among those in the lead are Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, who had the most votes at 53,591, and Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon with 50,410 votes.
Contestants holding cabinet posts are also among the frontrunners. They include Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister R. Sivarasa (44,994 votes), Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah (42,232 votes) and Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Kamarudin Jaafar (38,846 votes).
Several members of parliament as well as assemblymen were also in the lead.
They include Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (37,942 votes) who, as the party’s incumbent Youth leader, had a good chance of climbing the ranks.
Others in the mix include Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Elizabeth Wong (42,731 votes), Kajang assemblyman Hee Loy Sian (34,969 votes) and Port Klang assemblyman Azmizam Zaman Huri (36,548 votes).
The dark horses, meanwhile, are Sabah PKR chief Rahimah Majid (45,283 votes), Bera PKR coordinator Zakaria Abdul Hamid (41,267 votes) and PKR Training Academy Bureau strategic director Zaliha Mustafa (35,029 votes).
Under PKR’s constitution, 27 positions must be filled in the central leadership council. Twenty will be chosen by vote, while the remainder are appointed.