PETALING JAYA: History was repeated as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic) once again secured the presidency unopposed, this time for the 2022-2024 term.
His name was the only one listed when nominations closed on Monday, party secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said yesterday.
The 75-year-old also won the presidency unopposed in the party’s polls for the 2018-2021 term in November 2018.
Anwar, who is also Pakatan Harapan chairman, had submitted his nomination papers via the Adil application.
The party’s polls this time will be held in hybrid form, with in-person and online voting via the Adil application that was introduced by PKR on Feb 28 this year.
The online voting process will run from May 18-20, with physical voting to take place from May 13 to 17.
Winners of the central leadership council involving the posts of president, deputy president and vice-president will be announced on June 26 at the PKR annual national congress while those for Wanita and AMK chiefs will be announced on June 24 at their respective annual congresses.
It will be a crowded affair for the PKR vice-presidency race as 18 have announced their interest to date, the latest being PKR information chief Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin who submitted his name on Monday.
Among the top contenders are Selangor Mentri Besar and state PKR chairman Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, as well as Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar and state PKR chairman Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun.
Other candidates include incumbent Chang Lih Kang, PKR communications director and Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil, Wanita PKR chief and Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh, PKR chief organising secretary and Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, and former Perak PKR chief Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak.
Also in the contest are former Perak PKR deputy chairman MA Tinagaran, Kapar MP Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid, Alor Setar MP Chan Ming Kai, former Kapar MP G. Manivannan, and Sentosa assemblyman Dr G. Gunaraj.
Finally, there are Terengganu PKR chairman Azan Ismail, former vice-president Mustaffa Kamil Ayub, former vice-head of PKR Youth S. Thiban, Chuah assemblyman Michael Yek, and Bukit Selambau assemblyman R. Summugam.
Among the three incumbent vice-presidents, Chua Tian Chang, better known as Tian Chua, announced on March 27 that he would not be defending his post.
Rafizi Ramli had offered himself to contest the deputy president’s post against Saifuddin.
Aside from that, Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar has said she will not be entering the race for PKR’s top six positions.
Instead, the former PKR vice-president who resigned from her post in December 2018 will focus on efforts to woo voters who are still on the fence ahead of the 15th General Election.