Blackout at PKR polls

GEORGE TOWN Pineng: Serious glitches at several PKR divisional meetings on Saturday and yesterday continued to mar the party’s electoral process. In Nibong Tebal, there was high drama at the PKR voting centre last night following the discovery of ballot papers outnumbering voter turnout. The discovery, with 838 ballot papers compared with 672 voters, prompted incumbent division chairman Makhtar Shapee and challenger S. Sanjeeviramah to call for a re- election, while fellow challenger Datuk Dr Mansor Othman, who is also Penang deputy chief minister and state PKR chief, stood his ground for the ballot papers to be counted. There were many red faces and shouting as supporters of the three contenders cried foul over the turn of events. After consulting returning officer Datuk Law Choo Kiang, the division’s polls director, Kalsom Said, declared the election null and void, and called for a re-election to be held. Almost immediately after the announcement, the JKKK hall in Simpang Tiga went dark, sending the hall into more havoc as screaming matches broke out, with chairs and tables also being kicked about. The blackout lasted 20 seconds. Mansor was seen being whisked away by his aides and supporters, while the other two remained in the hall. The Nibong Tebal division has a total of 3,692 registered members. In Kota Kinabalu, Sabah PKR chief Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin said while most divisions had completed meetings without hiccups, a glaring setback took place in Tenom after electoral officials did not take enough ballot papers to the polling centre. Lajim said more than 1,000 members were present to cast their votes but only 300 ballot papers were given out. “One of the officials forgot to bring ballot papers for the divisional elections. “So that is why the meeting had to be cancelled. We will let the party headquarters decide on the matter.” He added that the proposed date to resume the Tenom divisional meeting was on May 10. Lajim admitted there were other technical problems as well as reports of rowdy crowds in several areas. “But these are all normal because of the (excitement) of election process at some of the divisions.” Grouses were further raised in Perak, when two of the 24 PKR divisions — Lumut and Bagan Serai, encountered problems with the voting process and ballot papers. In Lumut, candidate for division chief First Admiral (R) Muhammad Imran Abd Hamid said the secretariat failed to provide the nomination books which listed the candidates’ names. “When voting began at 10am, members could not vote as there were no nomination books,” he said. Following complaints from members, the nomination books were later distributed to members about noon. The voting process was further marred when ballot papers for the national Youth post arrived only at 12.15pm. This led members to voice their dissatisfaction with some claiming sabotage was involved. In Bagan Serai, there was a slight confusion when the candidate for the division Youth chief post, Yusri Yaacob, pulled out of the race at the last minute. Yusri who resorted to pasting papers at the voting area to announce his decision, said he had informed the party’s central selection committee of his intention last Friday. “But today, my name is still there as a candidate,” he said, adding that his decision could help to unite the party, which he felt had split due to the election. Also in Penang, unofficial results showed incumbent Tan jung PKR division chairman Datuk Abdul Malik Abdul Kas sim was likely to lose his post he had held for more than 15 years. However, it is learnt that the state executive councillor would be challenging the results following allegations of eight people who voted but were not listed as members of the division. Additional reporting by Noor Adzman Baharuddin, Adie Suri Zulkefli and Sylvia Looi

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