Incumbent Youth vice-chief Dr Afif Bahardin and Johor Bahru MP Akmal Nasir will likely vie for the top PKR youth post in the coming party polls, Malaysiakini understands.

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, the incumbent youth chief, has passed the 35-year-old age limit for the post.

Afif and Akmal are, respectively, the protégés of warring PKR leaders Mohamed Azmin Ali and Rafizi Ramli.

Akmal declined to comment when asked to confirm his candidacy for the youth chief post when contacted. However, a source said Akmal is expected to announce the move next week.

Meanwhile, Afif, who is the Seberang Jaya assemblyperson, said he is still considering it, as some are also pushing him to contest for one of PKR's four vice-president positions.

"I haven't decided yet, there are some who have suggested (that I contest for vice-president), but I need to ask the leadership, and consult with (de facto PKR leader) Anwar Ibrahim first," he told Malaysiakini.

Afif added that there will be high expectations for this year's party elections, as the general public will be monitoring how the party has behaved since coming into power.

Akmal (photo) is a first-term MP and the strategy director for PKR Youth. He was also the youngest branch chief when elected to lead Johor Bahru PKR at the of 28 in 2014.

Prior to becoming an MP, he was being groomed by Rafizi through the NGO, National Oversight and Whistleblowers (NOW), during which he exposed a scandal involving the Malaysian Islamic Economic Development Foundation (Yapeim).

Afif is a Penang state executive councillor and a two-term assemblyperson.

His AMK Baru faction, which is closely aligned to Azmin's camp, dominated the 2014 PKR Youth polls, winning three out of five PKR Youth vice-chief positions, and 16 exco positions.

In the polls, AMK Baru chief Amiruddin Shari – now the Selangor menteri besar – lost to Nik Nazmi by a slim 250-vote majority.

Battles between those aligned with Rafizi or Azmin are expected to permeate this year's party elections.

The rivalry between Azmin and Rafizi intensified following the 2014 Kajang Move debacle, and has dominated PKR internal politics since.