Two senior DAP leaders have admitted a second party re-election is possible if it is "forced to do so" by the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

DAP national vice-chief Teresa Kok, in describing the party's precarious position, said: "We have not said we will not hold a re-election.

"Do we have a choice to not hold an election? We are on a knife's edge because we are not the government. If they (ROS) de-registers us, isn't that worse?" she said when contacted by Malaysiakini.

On July 7, ROS had instructed the party to call for a fresh election for its central executive committee (CEC) after ruling its 2013 re-election as invalid.

Kok stressed that DAP, however, would need to receive an official letter from the ROS before deciding on their next move.

“We are very helpless, we are unclear about how much trouble they (ROS) want to cause us,” Kok added.

DAP has lamented that ROS has yet to send them an official letter, despite making a public call for the party to hold a fresh election. Yesterday, DAP legal bureau chief Gobind Singh Deo gave ROS 48 hours to present them with such a letter, or risk legal action.

When asked if DAP was worried about how a second re-election could result in public criticism, she reiterated that the party was left with no choice.

“If Malaysiakini was threatened to have its business license suspended, lest you hold an annual general meeting, would you do it? Would you have a choice?

“If you want to exist, you must oblige by the rules and regulations, we (DAP) are not afraid of being criticised by others. If DAP collapses, it will serve no good purpose to anyone,” said Kok, who is also Seputeh MP.

Pua: Nothing ruled out

DAP National Publicity Secretary Tony Pua has also raised the possibility of a second re-election.

“Nothing is ruled out,” he told Malaysiakini.

Like Kok, he stressed a decision could only be made once the party has received official correspondence from ROS.

Both Kok and Pua’s comments echo those of DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, who previously said the party was “unafraid” of holding a second re-election.

A day after ROS’ announcement, DAP had called an emergency meeting with its CEC at party headquarters, where DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng blamed ROS for attempting to sabotage the party’s GE14 preparations.

ROS' recent announcement came more than four years after DAP voluntarily held a re-election on Sept 29, 2013, after an excel spreadsheet error affected the results of the initial election held on Dec 15, 2012.

The result of the 2013 election was sent less than two months later to the ROS on Nov 8, in accordance with the party’s constitution and the Societies Act 1966.

However, ROS did not acknowledge it, resulting in DAP bringing the matter to court. The case was later dropped.

If DAP complies with ROS’ latest directive, this will be the third election it holds for its leadership for the 2013-2016 term.