No formal protest against Rafizi over voting guide: Complaints bureau

Summary

• No official complaints have been received regarding Rafizi Ramli’s voting guide in the PKR polls, the party’s complaints bureau says.

• However, the bureau says there have been internal complaints, and the leadership council has outlined procedures to address ethics breaches.

• The committee also ordered the removal of several banners near voting centres due to breaches of campaign ethics.

The PKR complaints bureau has confirmed that no formal complaints were lodged against incumbent deputy president Rafizi Ramli over the release of his “cai” or voting guide ahead of the party’s central leadership election.

“There was none,” bureau chief Ahmad Kassim told reporters during a press conference at the Persada International Convention Centre, Johor Bahru today.

Also present were PKR election committee chairperson Dr Zaliha Mustafa, secretary-general Fuziah Salleh, and communications director Fahmi Fadzil.

“According to the complaints bureau chief here, we did not receive any formal complaint.

“What we received were internal complaints,” Zaliha added.

She was responding to a question on whether any complaints had been filed against Rafizi, who earlier released a list of candidates aligned with his reformist platform.

The voting guide includes candidates vying for vice-president, youth and women’s wings, and central leadership council posts - posing a direct challenge to the camp aligned with his rival, PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar.

The rule against voting guides, which is part of a set of campaign ethics to promote fairness, was introduced against a history of deep-rooted factionalism within the party.

Procedures outlined

Elaborating, Zaliha said the central leadership council had outlined procedures for the election committee to address complaints.

“The election committee can issue a warning, followed by a stern warning, and if no action is taken by the related parties, we may escalate the matter to the disciplinary board.

“That is the process agreed by the central leadership council,” she explained.

She also revealed that the committee had ordered the removal of several banners near physical voting centres, citing another breach of campaign ethics.

A total of 251 candidates are contesting in this round of party elections, covering posts in the main leadership body as well as the women's and youth wings.

There are 32,030 eligible delegates from 222 divisions who will cast their votes either online or in person at designated voting centres in Johor Bahru, Sabah, and Sarawak.

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