PKR’S central leadership council has agreed not to fill some vacancies in key positions until party elections are held.

Secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said this was decided at a council meeting held on May 1, with several top positions including deputy president and vice-president remaining vacant.

“With this, the running of the party at central level will remain status quo without us filling the vacant positions after some of our old friends left the party,” he said in his welcome address at the party’s 2020 annual national congress today.

The posts were left vacant after Mohamed Azmin Ali and Zuraida Kamaruddin led the revolt against the then Pakatan Harapan government and were summarily ejected from the party last year, while Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar announced his resignation as PKR vice-president and left the party last March.

Saifuddin also announced that the 2021 and 2022 congresses will be held simultaneously.

He said the annual general meetings (AGM) for divisions will be held next year, but their respective annual reports will be submitted to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) this year.

Saifuddin also said that the Sungai Buloh division was awarded the division with the highest number of new party registrations with 6,259 new members joining the party between November 16 and April 29 this year.

Meanwhile, PKR chief organising secretary Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the party had 2,028 branches nationwide, including 259 new branches registered this year.

“We have decided to have one branch in voting areas for winnable seats targeted by the party,” he said in his welcome speech at the congress.

About 2,000 delegates joined the congress virtually, starting at 8am. – Bernama, June 20, 2021.