It's deja vu as Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim will once again take on his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, for the PKR presidency.
 
It was announced that the contest will be a straight fight between husband and wife after nominations closed at 5pm.
 
Wan Azizah, who is incumbent PKR president, is seen as an "insurance" for Anwar as he faces possible disqualification due to a five-year jail sentence imposed by the Court of Appeal earlier this month.
 
The situation is exactly as it was in the 2007 PKR elections, when both Anwar and Wan Azizah vied for the the presidency in a three-cornered fight .
 
Wan Azizah had then also acted as "insurance" as Anwar who was then just released from prison still had a five-year ban on him from participating in politics. He however pulled out from the contest at the last minute.
 
Anwar's nomination papers was submitted at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya this morning by incumbent PKR deputy treasurer Low Chee Chong at 11am.

Former PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali nominated Anwar, seconded by Low.

Low said Anwar did not turn up himself as he needed some rest after returning from Kota Bharu last night.

Azizah's explanation

Anwar is appealing against his five-year jail sentence for sodomy at the Federal Court - the country's highest court.

Under Section 9A(1)(b) of the Societies Act 1966, a person cannot become or remain an officer bearer of a registered society if convicted of any offence and fined not less than RM2,000 or sentenced to jail for a term not less than a year.

In a press release this evening, Wan Azizah confirmed that she is contesting as a form of insurance, in case her husband is barred from contest.
 
"We have seen how cruel the ruling party (can be). When Anwar tried to execute the 'Kajang move', he was sentenced to jail and was not able to contest.
 
"Now, it is possible that there will be attempts by Umno and BN to again deny his democratic rights to contest and lead PKR," she said.
 
In view of this, said Wan Azizah, prudence is needed in facing Umno and BN's tactics, thus her acceptance of suggestions from party members to defend her post.
 
"This decision was made in the interest of the party's future, seeing that Anwar's candidacy cannot be confirmed," she said.

'Crowded battle'
 
The deputy presidency will be a crowded fight with five contenders challenging Azmin Ali who is defending the position.
 
The challengers are Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim , Tian Chua , Saifuddin Nasution Ismail , K Ramachandram and S Murali .

Interestingly, Tian Chua, whose real name is Chua Tian Chang, is contesting for both deputy president and vice-president. It is likely the Batu MP will eventually drop out from one of the races.

 
The nominations which began at 10am today went smoothly and below are a list of contenders for the various positions:
 
Vice-president (four elected posts)

1) Baru Bian (appointed incumbent)

2) Mansor Othman (incumbent)
3) Fuziah Salleh (incumbent)
4) Suresh Kumar
5) N Surendran (appointed incumbent)
6) Mustaffa Kamil Ayub
7) Elizabeth Wong
8) R Shanmugam
9) S Streram
10) Rafizi Ramli
11) Mohd Yahya Mat Sahri
12) Lee Chin Cheh
13) Nurul Izzah Anwar (incumbent)
14) Xavier Jeyakumar
15) Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin
16) Tian Chua (incumbent)

Chua Jui Meng is the only incumbent vice-president not contesting in the election. He was an appointed PKR vice-president.
 
Meanwhile, a total of 78 candidates will be contesting for 20 central leadership council member positions.

 
PKR Youth chief

 

1) Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad
2) Amiruddin Shaari
3) Nazree Yunus

PKR Youth deputy chief

1) Mohd Serman Hassnar

2) Chang Lih Kang
3) Afif Bahardin
4) Ramesh Kumar
 
Nine candidates will vie for three elected vice-chief posts and 62 contenders will vie for 20 exco positions in the youth wing. 
 
PKR Wanita chief

 

1) Zuraida Kamaruddin (incumbent)
2) Rodziah Ismail

PKR Wanita deputy chief

1) Haniza Mohamed Talha

2) Rosnah Azraai
3) Tengku Intan Tengku Abdul Hamid
 
Six candidates will vie for three elected vice-chief posts and 30 contenders will vie for 20 exco position in the women's wing.