PKR members in Selangor have voted in support of Azmin Ali over Rafizi Ramli to be the party’s deputy president.

In the final round of voting in the state today, members of five divisions – Tanjung Karang, Ampang, Pandan, Shah Alam and Hulu Langat – voted in favour of the incumbent deputy president, Azmin.

However, voting in Kuala Selangor had been postponed following technical problems in the e-voting system.

Unofficial results, according to sources from PKR’s election steering committee (JPP), showed Azmin garnering 18,452 votes compared with Rafizi’s 15,045, winning by a majority of 3,407 votes in a state long considered to be his stronghold.

Selangor has the highest number of members eligible to vote at 249,850, and the polls were held over three weekends.

The last six divisions of the state’s 22 have a combined total of 61,000 members.

In the earlier two phases of voting in the state, Azmin, who is also former Selangor menteri besar, led with 14,315 votes, while Rafizi received 12,948.

Polling at the Ampang and Pandan divisions today were closely watched as Azmin loyalist Zuraida Kamaruddin led the Ampang division, which she had won uncontested, while Rafizi is from the Pandan division.

Rafizi won the contest for Pandan division chief by defeating three challengers, one of whom was Lembah Jaya assemblyman Haniza Mohamed Talha.

However, the Pandan division voted in favour of Azmin for the deputy president’s post, a result Rafizi put down to questionable tactics.

Rafizi claimed victory in Perak yesterday, taking a 995-vote overall lead over Azmin despite losing the key state of Kedah.

Overall votes now see Azmin leading Rafizi for the deputy president’s post by 1,410 votes. Azmin had 49,969 votes while Rafizi bagged 48,558 votes.

The final leg of the party polls will now move to Sabah next weekend and Sarawak on November 10.

Last week, voting in several Selangor divisions saw supporters from both camps involved in scuffles, and claims of vote-rigging and other electoral fraud had surfaced.

Azmin had said the spate of complaints and problems related to the party elections was proof of weaknesses in the e-voting system, and urged the JPP to look into the complaints. – October 28, 2018.