Suspicion of 'saboteurs' in PKR polls
However, he noted that the majority of divisional annual general meetings and elections have gone on smoothly.
He said the results from 159 of the 166 divisions that have held their AGMs since Sept 17 are considered kosher despite facing practical issues, such as insufficient ballot papers.
Saifuddin however c
onfirmed that the AGM and elections in at least seven divisions have been postponed due to various issues, including the destruction of ballot boxes allegedly by outsiders.He said the party has identified several individuals through video footage and still photographs, who are said to be involved in the vandalism.
This has led the leadership to believe there might be "saboteurs" out to make PKR look incapable of handling its affairs.
The party is currently probing allegations raised by three divisions - Klang, Kapar and Kuala Langat - of infiltration, Saifuddin told a packed press conference at the party headquarters this morning.
"They broke open the ballot boxes, threw the ballot papers in the air and walked out. If you look at the footage, it looks like they're having a celebration," he dead-panned.
Saifuddin said the central election committee (JPP) has only come up with preliminary findings, and still needs to get localised confirmation on the incidents.
"What is sure is that they (the saboteurs) are not part of Keadlian's famiily," he said.
'Teething problems'
As for the four other divisions that had their meetings and elections postponed, Saifuddin said the issues are mostly procedural, including logistics and insufficient ballot papers due to overwhelming turnout by members.
In Merbok, he said the postponement was due to complaints that supporters of one candidate for deputy division chief had taken out ballot papers from the polling station to make copies. This is unlawful unless done and certified by the election coordinators themselves.
In Kuala Nerus, the division unanimously agreed to postpone its meeting until the JPP decides on the eligibility of one of the two candidates contesting the chairperson's seat.
Saifuddin said the Petaling Jaya Selatan division asked to postpone its meeting and elections as it was unable to manage the huge turnout of 2,000 members, while the Jerai division meeting was pushed back after some "friction' between members.
The party is scrutinising the Kota Raja and Subang division elections, held last weekend, but is awaiting reports from the coordinators on duty.
It is rumoured that fights broke out in both divisions, with a local leader hospitalised for injuries allegedly sustained from an attack by supporters of a rival candidate in Kota Raja.
Saifuddin however pointed out that the ballots for both divisions are still being counted at the party headquarters.
He stressed th
at the surge in attendance has proven a major challenge as PKR did not expect such a large turnout across the country.He said the average turnout for divisional AGMs and elections, calculated based on the 2004 and 2007 party congress attendance, stood at 40,000 nationwide, or five percent of the total 400,000 members.
"We (thought it would not ) go past a 35 percent turnout (nationwide), but in fact it has hit past 40 percent.
"We deployed four coordinators (for each division) based on our calculations and they ended up handling 2,000 people... That's a surge from as low as three percent to 40 percent turnout in some places.”
Saifuddin stressed that PKR would overcome the shortcomings that have surfaced over the past few weeks.
He hopes the problems can be minimised by the coming weekend, when the remaining 39 divisions hold their meetings and polls.
MK
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