KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail and Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin are leading in the Umno vice-president race and likely to secure two of the three positions up for grabs.
As at 11pm, Wan Rosdy had secured 71 votes, the first among eight candidates to do so.
The 64-year-old is also Pahang Umno liaison chairman as well as the Cameron Highlands chief, which he had won uncontested.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Khaled, one of the incumbents, secured 66 votes. He is also Johor Umno chief as well as Higher Education Minister.
To win one of the positions, a candidate needs to obtain a third of the votes from the 189 divisions.
Titiwangsa Umno chief Datuk Seri Johari Ghani looks set to fill the third seat. He garnered 53 votes as of press time.
The lone female candidate for the vice-presidency, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, had 35 votes.
For the supreme council race, Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, who is Deputy Home Minister, held the lead, with Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, the Foreign Minister, close behind.
The fight for the 25-seat supreme council saw a crowded race of 95 contestants.
The Umno elections, which took place yesterday, also saw the son of its former president Datuk Nazifuddin Najib winning the Langkawi division chief post.
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah successfully defended his post as Gua Musang chairman against two contenders.
The 85-year-old defeated two other contenders, Che Mohd Izani Che Musa and Datuk Saari Lembut, in a three-cornered fight.
The win means that the Kelantan prince popularly known as Ku Li is Umno’s longest-serving division head.
He has held the post for more than 50 years from the time it was known as Ulu Kelantan.
Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan remain Umno president and deputy president for the 2023/2026 term. This follows a decision by the Umno general assembly for the top two posts to be uncontested.
