KUALA LUMPUR – Physical voting for the 2022 PKR election at the state level in Sabah, Sarawak, and Perak ended today, and was reported to have been generally carried out in a smooth and orderly manner, with only slight technical issues.
In Sabah, Sabah PKR leadership council secretary Mustapha Sakmud said physical voting at 33 polling stations in 26 branches took place in a peaceful and controlled atmosphere from 9am to 5pm.
“Only a few technical problems occurred in the Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Sepanggar branches this morning because the tablets used had problems due to the many users...but it was resolved within 30 minutes.
“The turnout was very encouraging and more than 50% turnout was recorded in all branches,” he said today.
In Sarawak, 27 out of 31 PKR branch leaders won without contest in the party’s election which took place online today.
Sarawak PKR acting chairman Abang Zulkifli Abang Engkeh said that the four branches that saw contests for the chief post were Santubong, Stampin, Kota Samarahan, and Hulu Rajang.
“I cannot speak of the results (of the contests) because all (information) is channelled directly online to the central committee level in Kuala Lumpur,” he said when contacted.
Abang Zulkifli, who himself won the Batang Lupar branch chief’s post in today’s election, said he could not confirm whether he would be picked as the Sarawak PKR chairman.
“This matter will be decided by the PKR leadership at the central level,” he added.
In Perak, there was a slight misunderstanding due to one of the supporters’ tents being placed too close to the polling station, and a war of words erupted between the supporters of Hulu Kinta assemblyman Muhamad Arafat Varisai Mahamad and Mustapa Mansor Amer Mohd Isa, who were running for the PKR Tambun branch chief’s post.
Arafat said in a press conference that apart from the tent issue, no other issues had arisen, adding that the voting this time was smoother as voters were provided with 40 tablets compared to 20 tablets in the 2018 PKR election.
A total of 135,407 PKR members voted in the 2022 PKR election, including 76,932 who voted online from May 18 to May 20 while 57,512 members voted physically.
The PKR 2022 election, which saw a total of 11,282 candidates vying for various positions at the central, branch, and wing levels, took place physically in each state, except for the election in the Hulu Selangor branch which had to be postponed due to infrastructure issues.
The unofficial results of the winning candidates are expected to be posted on PKR’s official website within 24 hours after the voting process ends today, while the official results will be announced at the PKR National Congress on June 25. – Bernama, May 22, 2022
