Results of UMNO polls to be known earliest at 8pm

UMNO executive secretary Datuk Ab Rauf Yusoh said the vote counting would begin as soon as all delegates had cast their votes, scheduled at 1pm the earliest.

"The official results are expected at 2am or 3am depending on information from the respective divisions.

"If there are divisions who do not announce, we will wait, no matter what time," he told reporters after looking at preparations made at the UMNO Election media Centre at the Putra World Trade Centre in the capital, Friday.

Meanwhile in JOHOR BAHRU, the Johor state UMNO Information chief, Datuk Samsolbari Jamali, expects the results for the wings' polls in the state's 26 divisions to be known the earliest by 4pm.

He said 780 party workers and volunteers would be on duty on Saturday to ensure the process at all the 26 divisions were carried out accordingly.

In KUALA TERENGGANU, the Terengganu state UMNO Election Committee confirmed that 22 of the 38 candidates who had been announced earlier to be ineligible to contest due to various factors, were allowed to contest in the party polls.

Committee chairman, Datuk Muda Mamat, said they comprised 17 candidates whose membership in the party was less than 36 months and five others whose problems with the Insolvency Department had been cleared after checks were made.