KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s aides demanded today for an immediate stop to the PKR elections following claims that several pro-Zaid divisions were unable to cast their votes.

Zaid’s aides said that they had received reports that four divisions which had either voted for Zaid or were “mobilised” to vote for him were unable to do so, resulting in party members in those divisions leaving the polling centres in “frustration.”

“Today is the first day of polling where thousands of party members are eligible to vote at the polling centres in several Kedah and Kelantan divisions, which should have begun at 10:00 am. However, we have received numerous reports that members were unable to vote at several divisions this morning and many have left in frustration.

“In light of these alarming logistical problems on the very first day of polling, we expect more serious problems ahead. Especially considering that there are only 10 divisions polling today and there will be 79 more divisions polling during this weekend,” said Rashid Azad Khan, Zaid’s election agent and Muhammad Firdaus Christopher, political aide to Zaid, in a joint statement today.

It is understood that the divisions affected are Kota Bharu, Tumpat, Langkawi and Alor Setar where ballot papers were either unavailable or had arrived at the polling centres only at noon. There were also complaints that newly registered PKR members today were already allowed to vote.

The allegations of chaos and discrepancies comes barely a day as PKR heads into its national party leadership elections, and adds to a mounting list of complaints and allegations of unfair voting tactics.

The statement also hit out at the party’s Central Elections Committee (JPP) which had been tasked with ensuring a clean and smooth elections process.

According to Zaid’s assistants, JPP chairman Dr Molly Cheah had informed them that she was no longer “involved” in PKR’s elections process and was also unaware of any briefings conducted late last night by the party secretariat.

“Although the JPP and party secretariat assured us that the election will be conducted professionally to ensure a free and fair election, the above problems have cast serious doubts on the entire election process.

“After discussing these problems with Dr Molly Cheah (the Chairperson of the JPP) this morning, we are now even more disturbed as she claims that she is no longer involved in the management of the election process. Indeed, she said that she has no knowledge of the briefing of the candidates and/or their election agents that was conducted at the eleventh hour last night by the party secretariat. She also said that she regrets the problems faced by voters at the divisions mentioned above but she is unable to do anything about it,” said the statement.

Zaid’s supporters also called for Dr Cheah to be replaced along with the party secretariat for failing to “perform their duties properly”, saying that the responsibility for monitoring the party elections should be handed to others who were capable of executing their duties.

“If the JPP and/or the secretariat proceeds without resolving these basic but fundamental issues, the party will lose the trust of its members and also damage its reputation as a party that fights for democracy and justice for all Malaysians,” added the statement.

The hotly contested post for the party’s deputy presidency will see Zaid go against former Abim member Mustaffa Kamil Ayub and PKR veteran Azmin Ali, who is said to be Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s favourite.

Zaid, who is considered as a PKR outcast due to his growing criticisms against the party has made explicit insinuations that supporters of Azmin, his leading contender in the three-way deputy presidency race, were responsible for the hurdles he was facing in his tilt for the number two post.

The former Umno politician has not minced his words since entering the fray for the deputy presidency, even rejecting outright Anwar’s warning to bypass Umno-owned media like Utusan Malaysia and insisted that the paper’s relentless attacks against the PKR de facto leader could have stemmed from the boycott.

PKR has had a rough run in its first-ever direct party elections as some candidates have accused the party of vote rigging and fraud on the divisional polls level amid violence at some divisional elections.

Since divisional elections began on September 17, 13 divisions have been forced to postpone their meetings.

The losers in the Kelana Jaya division polls had complained of vote rigging and fraud, citing alleged irregularities like unannounced changes in the list of the division committee.

Election results in Hulu Selangor had to be put on hold following allegations that the number of votes exceeded the number of voters while accusations of vote rigging also surfaced in the Tasek Gelugor division polls.