GEORGE TOWN: The coming Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) election will see for the first time online voting to smoothen and accelerate the process involving more than 800,000 party members nationwide.

PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the e-voting system had been ­developed and was currently undergoing tests to identify potential problems that might arise.

“In the previous two-party elections, we used paper for the voting process. This time, there is no more paper.

“Party members only need to be present at the voting centre and present their identity card to confirm their membership before using the provided gadgets to vote for the candidates they want,” Saifuddin told reporters after visiting Pasar Bayan Baru near here yesterday.

Saifuddin, who is also Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, said PKR planned to carry out the polling process according to zones and preparations were being made so that it would run smoothly as PKR was the only party to grant every member the right to choose leaders in the party.

“PKR received over 300,000 new members from May 9 to June 26 and now, we have more than 800,000 members, all of whom will vote at this election.

“I hope they will show good discipline during the election because we are now a government party,” he said.

Meanwhile, Saifuddin denied the imposition of tens of thousands of ringgit in fees on candidates who wanted to contest in the election that had gone viral on social media.

“What was made viral was not the amount that PKR had fixed. It was proposed and is still in the discussion stage.

“I give my assurance that the fees to be imposed will be reasonable, especially for candidates at the branch level, and we will issue a circular soon,” he said. — Bernama