Outgoing Federal Territory PKR chief Zaid Ibrahim is still a candidate for the party's deputy president's post until he tenders an official letter of withdrawal to the elections committee (JPP).

sharifah shahidah, asst. sec-gen pkr "We have to wait for the JPP. They have not yet received an official letter from Zaid.

“Once we’ve received an official letter from him, the JPP can decide," said deputy secretary-general Syarifah Shahida Syed Kamarulzaman ( right ) when asked about the status of Zaid, a former Umno stalwart-turned-Pakatan Rakyat coordinator.

At a press conference in PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya to announce the results of the latest round of PKR direct elections, Syarifah Shahida said Zaid's abrupt announcement that he is withdrawing from the deputy presidency race has caught the party offguard.

NONE "We are all shocked," she said, but declined to comment further on Zaid’s (left) about-turn.

The JPP will come up with a statement on the matter soon, she said.

Asked about Zaid's allegations of impropriety in the electoral process, Shahida said such claims by him, fellow deputy-presidential candidate Mustaffa Kamil Ayub and from party divisions have been brought to the JPP's attention.

"They (the allegations) will be investigated and we will inform the complainants (about the outcome)," she said.

Number discrepancies

In the official tally of election results by JPP up to last weekend, PKR vice-president Azmin Ali is leading the race for deputy president with 4,738 votes, a comfortable gap of 968 votes over Zaid’s 3,410 votes.

Mustaffa, meanwhile, has bagged 1,181 votes.

pkr national congress 301108 azmin ali The JPP, however, has yet to receive the results of voting in nine divisions in Sabah and Kelantan, hence the discrepancy with the unofficial tally Malaysiakini has obtained from the divisions and party sources.

According to the tally from 87 divisions, Azmin (right) has extended his lead over Zaid and Mustaffa by 2,620 votes from a total of 6,525 votes.

Zaid has reportedly garnered 3,905 votes, and Mustaffa 1,215 votes.

The four top candidates for the four vice-presidents' posts are currently Nurul Izzah Anwar (4845), Tian Chua (3,933), Mansor Othman (3552) and Fuziah Salleh (3,370).

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