In a surprise outcome, senator Hassan Shukri received the highest number of nominations to contest for the PAS deputy president post, beating favourite Mustafa Ali and renowned religious scholar Dr Harun Din.

Selangor's Hassan and Terengganu's Mustafa are currently vice-presidents while party veteran Harun, who is from Perlis, does not hold any post but nevertheless commands strong support among the rank-and-file.

While Mustafa is a former teacher, the other two candidates are ulama (religious scholars).

Party sources today said 13 candidates were nominated by the party divisions which met over the past months. Among the more notable ones are vice-president Dr Hassan Ali and secretary-general Nasharuddin Mat Isa ( photo ).

Both are not considered as frontrunners and indeed Hassan has already announced that he was pulling out from the race.

However, the number of nominations garnered by the candidates for the deputy post - which was left vacant by Terengganu Menteri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang, who is the only nominee for PAS president - could not be ascertained.

Special meeting

Keeping in line with tradition, the nominees will attend a special meeting called syura to decide among themselves on who is best suited for the job.

However, sources said the meeting which was scheduled for tonight has been postponed to tomorrow morning.

If the syura failed to appoint a deputy president then the matter will be decided at this weekend's PAS muktamar (annual general assembly) where delegates will cast their votes.

The upcoming meet will also see the endorsement of Abdul Hadi as president following the demise of Fadzil Noor last June. Abdul Hadi was elected as deputy president in 1989.

Meanwhile, there are 20 nominations for the three vice-president posts. Beside the incumbents, others nominated are Nasharuddin and Youth chief Mahfuz Omar.

Tough fight

The contest for the top positions in PAS muslimat (women's wing) is also expected to be a tough one.

Former chief Jamilah Ibrahim is expected to try to make a comeback as she is one of those nominated to challenge incumbent Fatimah Ibrahim.

Nominated for the other top women's posts were central committee members Dr Lo' Lo' Ghazali ( photo, right ) and Dr Mariah Mahmud.

The nominees are also expected to hold a syura tonight in their bid to avoid a contest.

The contest for positions in PAS Youth is expected to be a tame affair with the current deputy chief Sallahuddin Ayub ( photo ) being the only nominee for the top post. Incumbent Mahfuz will relinquish his post in order to vie for the higher post of vice-presidency.

However, some sparks are expected for the deputy Youth chief post as there are two nominations, vice-chief Idris Omar and secretary Mohd Misbahul Munir Masduki.