MALACCA — In an unprecedented move, the MIC was forced tonight to delay announcing the results of the keenly-fought contest for its three vice-president posts until tomorrow due to repeated disputes.
Soon after announcing the winners of MIC's Central Working Committee (CWC), party president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel addressed the some 1,500 delegates and members of the media in attendance to say the final decision on the VP race will only be announced after a final recount tomorrow.
Earlier, unofficial reports had incumbent Datuk M. Saravanan, party treasurer general Datuk Jaspal Singh and former vice president Datuk S. Sothinathan as the victors of the first count.
But protests by Johor Baru division chairman Datuk S. Balakrishnan and Jaspal over discrepancies in the vote tallies led to the first recount, which resulted in 20 votes turning up in former’s favour.
Disputes were also lodged by Saravanan, who came in behind Sothinathan by 10 votes.
This led to a stalemate that found no resolution after five recounts, forcing the party to delay a sixth and final count until tomorrow morning, which could lead to a fresh election for the three vice-president spots if the result is not accepted.
The two incumbent VPs are Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Saravanan and Perak State Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri S. K. Devamany, who, according to sources, secured one of the lowest number of votes.
The other candidates are former youth chiefs Datuk S. A. Vigneswaran and Datuk T. Mohan, and Bukit Bintang division deputy chairman James C. Selvarajah.
In the last party elections in 2009, Devamany obtained 1,122 votes, while Saravanan and Balakrishnan won 1,030 and 471 votes respectively.
The race for the 23 CWC spots saw a mix of old and new faces getting through.
Newcomers to the committee are Deputy Education Minister II P. Kamalanathan, A. Pakas Rao, Datuk Ragu Moorthy from Klang and J. Dhinakaran. The youngest candidate and the son of former deputy president Tan Sri S. Subramaniam, S. Sunther, won a seat after securing 729 votes.
Among the incumbents who retained their seats are Datuk Murugesan, Secretary-General A. Sakhtivel, P. Palaniappan, J. Dhinagaran, K. P. Samy.
No women candidates managed to obtain a seat this time round, compared to four seats resultant for the 2009 polls.
Among those that had lost their spots on the CWC are Tan Sri K. S. Nijhar, Datuk T. Rajagopalu and Datuk K.R.A. Naidu.
Both party president and his deputy Palanivel and Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam were retained unopposed.
The 67th MIC annual general meeting (AGM) kicked-off with a massive crowd of candidates lining up to greets the 1,452 delegates at the entrance of leading hotel in Malacca.
Today’s election had seen the highest number of candidates - 88 - contesting for a spot on the CWC. - NST
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