Fresh PKR polls to be held in three Sabah divisions

PETALING JAYA: The PKR election committee said it will hold fresh elections in three Sabah divisions with measures in place to address weaknesses identified in the last round.

The committee’s chief, Datuk Rashid Din, said elections in Tawau, Keningau and Pensiangan will be held on Sunday.

The three divisions held their elections last weekend but polling was marred by disruptions and other problems, causing PKR to nullify the results.

“We will address all the shortcomings which were brought up in the last round of elections,” said Rashid.

Revealing the measures that will be put in place in the fresh round of voting, Rashid said more tablet computers which are used for the voting process will be made available in Pensiangan.

In Keningau, the e-voting venue will be moved while better crowd control measures will be in place in Tawau.

In addition, party officials tasked with organising the polling process will all be flown in from the peninsula.

Asked whether the election committee needs to wait for PKR’s political bureau to agree to fresh polls before they can be held in the three Sabah divisions, Rashid said there was no need.

“We do not take orders from anyone; we are our own masters.

“Even if PKR’s political bureau does not agree, we will still go ahead and hold the elections in these three divisions again,” he added.

A meeting of the party’s political bureau last night to discuss the matter was still ongoing as at press time.

Polling in the three divisions was chaotic, with voting hours extended in Pensiangan, and scuffles breaking out in Tawau and Keningau.

The results for the three divisions were put up online in the party’s election portal before being removed.

The results then had shown that the same candidate had won in the three divisions.

The main race is between Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and Rafizi Ramli for the post of deputy president, with Azmin currently ahead.

Rafizi was physically assaulted in Keningau and complained that the election committee had chosen a polling centre at a location with no telephone line or Internet connec- tion, making it difficult to vote.

PKR’s elections, which started on Sept 22, have been hit by numerous glitches and allegations of phantom voters.

Separately, PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail advised the party election committee to ensure that preparations are fully in place ahead of the party polls in Sarawak, which starts on Saturday.

“You need to consider whether to have it in a bigger hall, which could be more comfortable, or a smaller one.

“Also, there is the issue about Internet connectivity,” said Saifuddin.