PKR is optimistic about Anwar Ibrahim's chances in Port Dickson, despite the trend of low voter turnout post-GE14.

Three by-elections - Sungai Kandis, Seri Setia and Balakong - all saw a turnout of less than 50%.

The party's deputy president candidate Rafizi Ramli said the low-turnout factor will be taken into account, but it was not a reason to halt the by-election plans.

"(PKR election director) Nurul Izzah Anwar will have to pay more attention to mobilisation to make sure more people come out," Rafizi said during a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

The press conference was held to announce incumbent Port Dickson MP Danyal Balagopal Abdullah's move to vacate the seat for Anwar.

PKR had won the seat with a 17,710-vote majority against BN and PAS on May 9.

Still a safe seat, says Saifuddin

Even though the majority of 17,710 can be considered a landslide, the seat may not be "safe" in a by-election, owing to the current political context.

This is due to the abysmal turnout for the Sungai Kandis, Seri Setia and Balakong by-elections, as well as the cooperation between Umno and PAS.

For example, in the Seri Setia by-election, which had slightly fewer voters than Port Dickson despite being a state seat, PKR saw its majority reduced from 19,372 to 4,207 votes while its vote-share went down from 66.6 percent to 58.6 percent.

In the general election, PKR won the Port Dickson parliamentary seat with 59.1 percent of the vote share.

However, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution who was also present at the press conference believes Port Dickson is still a safe seat as the party has held the constituency since 2008.

Meanwhile, Rafizi also rubbished a question on Anwar not having non-Malay support.

He said it was under Anwar's leadership that the opposition gained major support among non-Malays, leading to its strong performances in the 2008 and 2013 general elections.

Port Dickson voters comprise 55 percent non-Malays (33 percent Chinese, 22 percent Indians) while 43 percent are Malays.

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