Incumbents win clean sweep despite Mukhriz challenge

Incumbent Umno vice-presidents Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Shafie Apdal have retained their positions by a landslide at the party polls today, according to official results.

The party's committee chairperson Tajol Rosli Ghazali, who announced the results at around 1.40am, said Ahmad Zahid obtained the highest votes at 185, followed by Mohd Shafie 174 and Hishammuddin 100.

According to Bernama, their victories put paid to the challenge mounted three aspirants namely Mukhriz Mahathir who obtained 91 votes, while Mohd Ali Rustam and Mohd Isa Abdul Samad only secured seven votes each.

Mukhriz failed to garner much support in Johor, succeeding only in getting the votes from two divisions - Tebrau and Johor Bahru.

Some 146,000 delegates cast their votes earlier today.

Aside from the three vice-presidential positions they are voting for, delegates will also elect 25 Umno supreme council members out of 62 candidates, as well as their divisional leadership.

This is the first time Umno has expanded its voting base to 146,000 delegates from the previous 2,500 delegates.

Under the new system, delegates will vote for their favourite candidates at the divisional level. 

Candidates who garner the highest votes will win the division, and those who win the bulk of the party's 191 divisions nationwide will emerge victorious.

Umno has touted the new system as an attempt to democratise the party and to combat money politics.