Top two PKR leaders tick off Datuk Seri Azmin Ali for celebrating his win prematurely.
Azmin told to wait for JPP word instead of ‘celebrating too early’
PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Azmin Ali may have tweeted his thanks to PKR members for retaining his deputy presidency in the tight PKR race but he has been warned against celebrating “too early”.
Both the incoming and outgoing party presidents have ticked off Azmin over his tweet.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said while Azmin had the right to announce his victory in the soonto-be concluded party polls, he must respect the standard procedure which saw the official results being traditionally announced by the party’s central election committee (JPP).
“He has the right to announce (his victory) but he should know that the official announcement is made by the JPP and we must respect the process,” he told reporters in Parliament lobby here yesterday.
On the unofficial results of the polls, which sees Azmin ahead, he said: “Leave it to the JPP. The problem is that the media wants me to decide on this. I can’t do it. The decision of the central leadership committee and the political bureau lies on the JPP.
“There are also some who are asking me to give my opinion. I can’t (do that). Most importantly, I demand for a clean party polls and no fights. We must accept whatever decision is made and unite once again,” he added.
PKR outgoing president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said she was perplexed that some party supporters were already celebrating despite the party election not concluded yet.
“I don’t know why (they are celebrating). We have not arrived at the end ... Sometimes, people are just excited,” she said after launching the Astro Junior Championships U15 (Regional) badminton tournament in Bukit Kiara here yesterday.
On Sunday, Azmin had reportedly tweeted his thanks to party members for receiving the mandate to retain his position. His supporters had then celebrated his “victory” by re-tweeting his thanks.
According to unofficial results, Azmin is now leading with a 4,733-vote majority, polling 67,449 votes (51.82%) as opposed to his challenger Rafizi Ramli, who received 62,716 votes (48.18%), making him very likely to retain his position.
Results of the party polls will be officially announced during the three-day PKR Congress starting this Friday. It will be held at the Ideal Convention Centre in Shah Alam.
Asked if a re-election would be called in Julau PKR following complaints of membership discrepancies as well as vote tampering, Dr Wan Azizah said she was not privy to such information.
“I am waiting for the central election committee (JPP) to make a decision ... I am leaving that (to them) as proof that we want the election to be conducted independently,” she said.
Both Azmin’s official Twitter and Instagram only had pictures of him accompanying the Prime Minister on an official visit to Singapore.
In a statement, the party’s youth wing assistant secretary Syed Badli Syah Syed Osman advised party election candidates not to be over excited in claiming they have won, as the “finish line” hasn’t been reached yet.
He added that there were a large number of doubtful votes that have not been counted. There was a large possibility of re-elections in Julau and Tawau due to technical problems, he said.
Syed Badli Syah said a video recording has been circulated which showed that voters can vote repeatedly in Tawau, and in Julau, the central election committee found at least nine tablets used during voting were tampered with.
He added that Rafizi’s big win in Pensiangan had closed the gap between the incumbent and challenger by a majority of nearly 4,000 votes.
As such, Syed Badli Syah called on party members to remain calm and wait as the contest was still ongoing.
Bernama reported JPP chairman Datuk Rashid Din as saying that while Azmin had taken the lead, he had yet to win the race, adding that vote tallying for the elections was still pending due to thousands of undi ragu (doubtful votes) as well as the delay in the results of three divisions – Tawau, Pensiangan and Julau.