Delegates' conferences at 191 Umno divisions across the country, which officially began last Thursday, are gathering steam and already some surprises in voting trend have emerged, particularly in the Youth and to a smaller extent the Wanita chief posts.

With more than three weeks to go before nominations end on Nov 9, the journey has just begun and further surprises or upsets are still possible.

Next week, 41 more divsions are due to hold their delegates' meetings, mostly on Friday and Saturday.

President and deputy president

muhyiddin yassin and najib and umno Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has received 28 nominations for the No 1 post.

International Trade and Industry Minister and front-runner for the No 2 post, Muhyiddin Yassin, has obtained 23 nominations.

Malacca Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam has three nominations, while Umno information chief Muhammad Muhammad Taid has two. Pulai division head Nur Jazlan Muhamed has not received any nominations yet.

Neither has Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who offered himself for the No 1 post.

To qualify for election due to be held at the Umno annual general assembly next March, candidates for the No 1 post need to secure a minimum of 58 nominations, while aspirants for the No 2 post need to have at least 38 nominations.

Vice-president

So far, 11 candidates have received nominations in the crowded line-up for the VP post, where 13 aspirants have expressed interest for the party’s third most powerful position.

hishammuddin hussein 01 Leading the pack is outgoing Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein with 23 nominations, making him the first to qualify for election slated for March next year.

Former Youth chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who dropped out of the race for deputy president post, has the second highest nominations at 12.

Sabah Umno deputy chief Shafie Apdal, who suffered an early setback when Kimanis division in his home state did not select him, rebounded with 11 nominations under his belt.

umno polling dates and quota for 2008 party polls 250908 march 2009 Minister of Higher Education Khalid Nordin is next with eight nominations, followed by Home Ministeri Syed Hamid Albar with six, while Foreign Minister Rais Yatim collected five nominations.

Former chief ministers - Mohd Isa Abdul Samad of Negeri Sembilan has four nominations while Shahidan Kassim of Perlis booked three.

Former Minister of Science Technology and Innovation Jamaludin Jarjis and Negeri Sembilan state liasion chief Mohamad Hassan have two nominations each, while Kelantan liaison committee head Annuar Musa has one nomination.

To qualify for election due to be held at the Umno annual general assembly next March, candidates for the vice presidency need to have at least 19 nominations.

Youth Chief and deputy chief

Jerlun MP Mukhriz Mahathir - the son of ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad became the first to qualify for election as Youth chief.

By evening, the 44-year old Umno exco member had collected 40 nominations, widening his lead over incumbent Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin who obtained 19 nominations.

hishamuddin hussein khir toyo mukhriz khairy jamaluddin umno

Two other contenders, former Selangor menteri besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo won 12 nominations, while Perlis Umno liaison deputy president Zahidi Zainul Abidin won his first nomination this afternoon.

Incumbent Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein is not defending his post, having set his sights on a vice presidency.

For the Youth No 2 post, Muar MP Razali Ibrahim leads the field with 35 nominations.

His closest rival is Permatang Pauh Youth chief Reezal Merican Naina Merican, who has collected 30 nominations.

Kota Kinabalu Youth chief Baharol Raza Chuprap, Umno Youth executive committee member Marzuki Yahaya and Kapar Youth chief Faizal Abdullah have obtained one nomination each.

To qualify for election due to be held at the Umno annual general assembly next March, candidates for the Youth No 1 post need to secure a minimum of 38 nominations, while aspirants for the No 2 post need to have at least 29 nominations.

Wanita chief and deputy chief

Incumbent Rafidah Aziz consolidated her hold on the Wanita top post with 49 nominations. Her deputy Shahrizat Abdul Jalil too has obtained the minimum nominations needed for the No 2 post.

umno general assembly rafidah shahrizat and azalina But Shahrizat, already the incumbent Wanita deputy chief also received 11 nominations to gun for the top post, despite promising not to challenge Rafidah.

Party watchers believe that if this trend continued, Shahrizat may be forced by the groundswell of support to reconsider her decision and make a bid for the top Wanita post. She has already qualified for election for the No 2 post.

There are three other contenders for the No 2 post - former Puteri chief Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, Johor Wanita chief Halimah Siddiq and Kuala Kangsar Wanita division head Kamilah Ibrahim.

Kamilah is now neck to neck with Azalina at 4 nominations each. Halimah has one nomination so far.

To qualify for election due to be held at the Umno annual general assembly next March, candidates for the Wanita No 1 post need to secure a minimum of 38 nominations, while aspirants for the No 2 post need to have at least 29 nominations.