Nod for 13,000 new PKR voters may favour Rafizi

A SURPRISE decision by the PKR election committee to allow some 13,000 new members in the Julau division in Sarawak to vote in the ongoing party polls will very likely tip the scales in favour of Rafizi Ramli in the contest for the No. 2 post.
The two-horse race for the deputy presidency, with results see-sawing between incumbent Datuk Seri Mohd Azmin Ali and Rafizi saw Azmin in the lead after the latest balloting in Sabah.
However, the latest development in Sarawak does not bode well for Azmin as the election enters the final lap, according to a report in Sin Chew Daily today.
At the last count, Azmin had garnered a total of 58,949 votes, giving him a 3,321-vote lead over Rafizi's 55,628 votes.
PKR election committee chairman Datuk Seri Rashid Din said the committee accepted all member lists submitted by party leaders, adding that "there is no reason to reject (any of them)".
"As such, the 13,000 new members are legit, and eligible to vote (in the party polls)," he said.
On reports lodged by members with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over Julau division's sharp increase in membership, Rashid said this is a party matter, which should be dealt with in accordance with the party's constitution.
The announcement by division chief Larry Sng a day before the start of PKR polls that the division's membership had surged to 13,000 – from 603 – has raised a controversy.
It was speculated that should the new members be allowed to vote, the tide will turn against Azmin as Sng, who is Julau MP and is defending his division chief post, has already declared his support for Rafizi.
Meanwhile, MACC has initiated an investigation into claims of phantom voters in the division.