Kit Siang tops in re-election, 90% of CEC retained

DAP-delegates SHAH ALAM: The DAP central executive committee (CEC) re-election concluded today with the line-up remaining 90% unchanged.

The re-election also saw DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang securing the highest number of votes.

The two changes to the line-up were the inclusion of Batu Gajah MP V Sivakumar and Selangor DAP committee member Ronnie Liu, who secured 586 and 688 votes respectively.

They replaced former national DAP chairman Karpal Singh, who died three years ago, and former Johor opposition leader and Skudai assemblyman Boo Cheng Hau.

Boo obtained 384 votes, which were not enough to get him into the top 20 spots.

Kit Siang secured 1,199 votes out of the total 1,346, followed by the party’s legal bureau chairman Gobind Singh Deo with 1,198 votes, and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng with 1,180 votes.

Kluang MP and Johor DAP chairman Liew Chin Tong, who had secured the highest number of votes in the 2013 CEC re-election ahead of Kit Siang, also made it into the line-up with 1,123 votes.

Bukit Bendera MP and Penang DAP vice-chairman Zairil Khir Johari secured the 19th slot in the CEC, garnering 649 votes.

Returning officer John Lau, from audit firm Grant Thornton, announced that a total of 1,346 ballot papers were issued and returned, with 36 spoilt votes.

He also said the re-election process had proceeded smoothly.

Today’s special congress was held following a directive from the Registrar of Societies (RoS) for fresh elections to be held for the CEC.

A total of 1,356 delegates, out of the 2,514 eligible delegates as per the list from the Dec 15, 2012 party elections, were present.

The dispute over DAP’s 2012 party elections was revived in July, three years after the matter was thought to have been settled between the party and RoS.

On July 7, the RoS issued a statement saying it had instructed DAP to hold a fresh election for its CEC, having decided that DAP’s earlier re-election, held on Sept 29, 2013, was not in accordance with the law.

“RoS believes the appointment of the CEC members as well as the main position holders through that re-election, is illegal.

“The re-election should be based on the list of delegates entitled to attend and vote for DAP’s CEC elections dated Dec 15, 2012, involving 2,576 delegates from 865 branches,” RoS director-general Mohammad Razin Abdullah had said in a statement.