The posturing has started, with rival camps jostling to claim the lead in the race to garner as many nominations as they possibly can for post of PAS deputy president.

Supporters of the two frontrunners - incumbent Nasharudin Mat Isa and vice-president Mohamad Sabu - have dismissed each other's claims of support, with numerous variations in the tally as nominations come to a close on Sunday.

Earlier, members aligned with Muhamad Sabu ( left ), who among party members is widely known as Abang Mat, said he was leaps and bounds ahead of his competitor, having secured at least 70 nominations as at last Saturday and leaving Nasharudin - with just 39 nominations - in the dust.

The Abang Mat group also claimed that vice-president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man was a distant third (with 17 nominations), followed by Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak (five nominations) and vice-president Salahudin Ayub and ousted Perak Menteri Besar Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin getting one each.

However, party insiders leaning towards Nasharudin are sceptical of the figures, dismissing the claims as just an unofficial tally.

Observing from the outside, political writer Mohd Sayuti Omar sees more balance in the tussle for the number two spot between Abang Mat and Nasharudin.

Based on his calculations, Mohd Sayuti said, Abang Mat has secured 59 nominations, just a shave higher than the 53 nods for Nasharudin ( left ) after more than 140 divisions held their meetings and put in their nominations.

Mohd Sayuti, who is also editor-in-chief of Siasah, gave a higher tally for Tuan Ibrahim (22) while Azizan secured four nominations based on his count.

"The final say on who takes the lead is in the hands of around 30 more divisions that have yet to decide on their candidate of choice.

"If all these divisions decide on Tuan Ibrahim, that would give him over 50 nominations. This sort of balanced situation could lead to a possible compromise... if that happens, it will be bad news for Mat Sabu," said Mohd Sayuti.

A total of 179 PAS divisions are due to make their nominations by Sunday, with the party's elections committee expected to announce the official tally at the PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur the following day.