About 10 potential PKR candidates for the Hulu Selangor by-election were summoned to the party headquarters on Wednesday to meet party de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim. 

According to a source, the session took place immediately after the party's political bureau meeting at about 11pm  at his Segambut Dalam home. 

Among those present were Pakatan Rakyat coordinator Zaid Ibrahim, PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin, former ISA detainee and firebrand cleric Badrul Amin Baharun, Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud, Anwar's former press secretary Khalid Jaafar and human rights lawyer N Surendran. 

azlan Also at the meeting was another potential candidate from the Hulu Selangor PKR division - vice-chief Razali Mokhtar.

However, whether or not divisional treasurer Dr Halili Rahmat was present too remains a mystery.

Some sources say he was while insist he was absent.

The source described it as a 'meet and greet' session with Anwar, who has been entrusted with  the task of selecting the best candidate for the crucial by-election. 

Another source claimed that Syed Shahir and Khalid were frontrunners while the rest were either uninterested or wanted to give way to others.

Meanwhile the Elections Commission (EC) today announced that the Hulu Selangor by-election will be held in three weeks, with polling day on April 25 while nomination day is on April 17.

The polls was necessitated by the March 25 death of Zainal Abidin Ahmad. 

The by-election is a crucial test for PKR which has been rocked by the resignations of three MPs as party members.

It will also be a litmus test on the performance of the party which leads the Pakatan Rakyat state government. 

Barisan Nasional will be working hard to secure a win because since the March 2008 general election, it has yet to score a victory in a opposition held seat, let alone in an opposition held state.