KOTA KINABALU: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has yet to announce the candidates nominated for the 52 party posts, including the top two posts although three days had passed since the nomination deadline on Monday.
LDP election committee (EC) chairman Datuk Tan Sui Fu said the candidate list could not be announced yet while the EC continues with its work.
Tan said the announcement as to which is the legal faction would be done in due course.
LDP supreme council has passed a resolution to ‘support the leadership of Datuk Liew Vui Keong and Senator Datuk Chin Su Phin as the president and deputy president respectively on June 9 this year.
However, vice president Datuk Pang Yuk Ming announced thereafter that he wished to vie for a higher post in the forthcoming party election in October.
Following Pang’s announcement, many divisions publicly announced their support for secretary general Datuk Teo Chee Kang to contest for the party’s top post, which the latter accepted out of respect for the grassroots’ wishes.
However, Liew sacked Teo from his post as secretary general on the grounds that the latter has violated the supreme council’s resolution, and Liew further stripped and suspended 30 supreme council members of their posts and party memberships, including Chin.
Teo’s faction, headed by Chin, reacted by removing Liew from party president’s post and suspending his membership, while endorsing Chin as the acting president of LDP.
Both factions, Liew and Teo’s, submitted their nomination forms to the party headquarters by the deadline at 4pm on September 16.
The nominations received included candidates for all 52 posts on the supreme council, central youth and central women.
“We (the EC) have a lot to handle as there are many candidates.”
As to whether the suspended party members could contest in the party election, Tan said the EC could not take any action at the moment.
“This depends on which side is truly legal. We will process the nominations submitted from both sides and ultimately make a decision.”