Kit Siang leads the pack again in DAP polls

Despite a surge of new delegates, from 948 in 2008 to 1,846 this year, there was not much change in the voting pattern for the new Central Executive Committee (CEC) line-up.

 

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who came in second in the 2008 party elections, again obtained the second most votes this round.

 

His father, senior party advisor Lim Kit Siang (left) has again led the pack by garnering 1,607 votes.

 

Meanwhile, DAP chairperson Karpal Singh took the third spot, capturing 1,411 votes. He improved his ranking by six notches.

 

Inspite of all the controversies surrounding him, maverick leader and Selangor state assembly speaker Teng Chang Khim managed to clinch the number 10 spot.

 

The other well-known party dissident who made the cut is Johor party chief Boo Cheng Hau. 

However, no Malay leaders made it to the top 20 list, unlike the last CEC which had Ahmad Ton as an elected member.

 

Apart from Ahmad, two other leaders were nudged out from the final 20 - Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy and veteran leader Tan Seng Giaw, who is also Kepong MP. 

 

There are two pairs of father-and-son team - the Lims and the Singhs. 

 

Among the two potential future secretary-general - Negeri Sembilan party chief Anthony Loke and Selangor senior exco Teresa Kok - the former bagged more votes, putting him in pole position to claim the post when Guan Eng steps down in the next polls.

 

Among the younger leaders, Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen and Loke have collected the highest number of votes. Chong was the only Sarawak leader to make it into the list, but no one from Sabah was elected.

 

One surprise is newbie Vincent Wu, the party's former assistant organising secretary, who rocketed into number six spot. The popular grassroots leader was appointed to the previous CEC.

 

There are two other debutants - Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong and Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching (above).

 

The new CEC members will meet tomorrow to elect among themselves the office bearers, as well as to appoint 10 other members to sit in the committee. 

 

Those elected are:

 

1.  Lim Kit Siang (1,607 votes) [ranked 1 in 2008]
2.  Lim Guan Eng (1,576) [2]
3.  Karpal Singh (1,411) [9]
4.  Chong Chieng Jen (1,211) [8]
5.  Loke Siew Fook (1,202) [11]
6.  Vincent Wu (1,202) [new]
7.  Tan Kok Wai (1,199) [3]
8.  Gobind Singh Deo (1,197) [20]
9.  Tony Pua (1,162) [13]
10. Teng Chang Khim (1,152) [15]
11. Fong Kui Lun (1,137) [4]
12. Nga Kor Ming (1,075) [16]
13. Chong Eng (1,006) [14]
14. Chow Kon Yeow (986) [17]
15. Liew Chin Tong (984) [new]
16. M Kulasegaran (984) [5]
17. Boo Cheng Hau (958) [19]
18. Teresa Kok (925) [6]
19. Teo Nie Ching (903) [new]
20. Ngeh Koo Ham (824) [10]

 

(1,826 cast their votes, with 58 spoiled votes)

Earlier today, five candidates dropped out of the DAP central executive committee contest as 1,842 delegates cast their votes at the party's 16th national congress in Penang.

The five were Choong Siew Onn, Er Teck Hwa, Jaya Balan Valliappan, Teo Kok Seong and Violet Yong Wui Wui.

Except for Teo, the newly minted DAP Socialist Youth chief, who said he wanted to focus on developing the party, the reason for other withdrawals are not yet known.

The election officers started briefing the delegates at around 1pm, to start lining up to pick up their ballot papers at the 20 counters provided.

The new CEC line-up will later appoint 10 more to make up the committee for 2013-2015.

Before the vote, the candidates were introduced to the crowd via their photos featured in the LED big screen.

Candidates like secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, senior adviser Lim Kit Siang, Perak leaders Ngeh Koo Ham, Nga Kor Ming and former state speaker V Sivakumar and Johor chief Boo Cheng Hau received applause from the crowd when their faces popped up on the screen.

The delegates were then called according to their branches to cast their votes using indelible ink.