A straw poll conducted by Malaysiakini has found that former Umno youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar is a favourite to become the next Umno president.

As for 5 pm today, 60 percent of the over 5,300 respondents to the online poll voted in favour for Khairy while his closest rival Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah only polled 24 percent.

Meanwhile, incumbent Umno acting president Ahmad Zahid Hamid merely polled seven percent. The other two candidates Mohamed Iqbal Maricair and Mohd Yusof Musa @ Jamaluddin polled six percent and three percent, respectively.

The poll was published on the night of June 25 on Malaysiakini’s English and Malay language editions and asked readers: “In your view, who is most qualified to lead Umno?”

The Umno presidential election kicks off tomorrow and results are expected the next morning.

Although only 170,000 Umno delegates will decide on the party’s next leader, it is expected that the new party president will also have to reflect the aspirations of all Malaysians.

Whoever is elected will have the unenviable task of rebuilding Umno and BN following its defeat at the 14th general election while positioning it as a credible opposition party and a government-in-waiting.

The poll sought to gauge what Malaysians expect of Umno.

In contrast to Malaysiakini straw poll, another poll conducted by the think-tank Ilham Centre found that Zahid is the frontrunner in the race with Tengku Razaleigh right behind him.

Zahid had polled 51 percent in Ilham’s poll while Tengku Razaleigh polled 35 percent. Khairy merely polled six percent while eight percent of Umno divisions were undecided.

Unlike Malaysiakini’s poll, the Ilham Centre poll’s respondents comprised 581 Umno delegates from 101 divisions across Peninsular Malaysia.