JOHOR BARU: PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh dismisses speculation that cracks are appearing within the party due to its divisional election results.
She added that she has been on a nationwide pre-congress roadshow, including in Sabah and Sarawak, before the PKR congress to be held here for three days from May 22.
“The message that I get from them is very clear. I can see that their spirit of unity is very strong and hopefully they can bring the same energy to our congress,” she added.
Fuziah, who is also the Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, said this at a press conference after carrying out a visit to a cooking oil packet packaging factory at Kempas here on Wednesday (May 14).
She added that PKR had appointed a third party auditor based overseas to look into its recent election results where it showed there was no irregularities.
“There is no tampering or even compromise made in the election. In fact, based on the audit result, it showed that the PKR election followed international standards,” she said.
On the upcoming PKR congress to be held here from May 22 to 24, Fuziah said it would be the largest in PKR’s history with almost 30,000 delegates expected to cast their votes.
“More than 9,000 delegates will be carrying out physical voting while some 20,000 delegates would cast their votes online next Friday (May 23),” she said.
On Sunday (May 11), PKR refuted claims by party deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli that complaints and objections related to its elections were ignored.
The party’s central election committee deputy chairman Datuk Ahmad Kasim said these allegations were untrue.
He said every complaint and objection received is taken seriously and handled professionally, fairly and according to regulations.
“The membership list used is the latest received from the secretary-general’s office, verified through the electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) process, before being updated as the official voter list.
“Claims that the committee ignored complaints and objections are untrue and regrettable,” he said in a statement.
Rafizi had earlier claimed that the committee had failed to carry out its duties when individuals allegedly joined PKR temporarily for the election period, allowing them to vote and contest in recent branch elections.
He also claimed that the committee had failed to check the membership status of individuals from other parties, allowing those from parties like Umno and Pejuang to contest and win branch positions.
To this, Ahmad said party election regulations were approved by the central leadership council on Feb 23 and confirmed by the party’s political bureau on March 3.
He pointed out that Rafizi was a member of both decision-making bodies.
“The regulations clearly state that every objection or appeal must be accompanied by sufficient evidence, and the burden of proof lies with the person lodging the objection or appeal.
“A total of 289 complaints and objections were received, covering various stages of the process including nominations, objections to nominations, appeals, finalising candidate lists, campaigns and voting processes.
“All these complaints have been thoroughly examined, with some referred to the secretary-general’s office and the party disciplinary board for further action as per their jurisdiction,” he said.
He added that the committee had also reviewed objections to voting results after the branch elections and presented them in the council meeting.
“The council has made decisions for six selected branches along with the international auditors appointed by the council to represent all issues related to branch voting results raised.
“The international auditor’s report shared by Rafizi proves that the e-voting system is in good condition, secure, and there is no evidence of manipulation or fraud,” Ahmad said.
