Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will contest against her husband and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de-facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, for the president post in the party election in May.

This was confirmed by the PKR’s Director of the Central Election Committee, Datuk Johari Abdul at a media conference held at PKR headquarters on Friday.

Wan Azizah who held the position for the last 15 years will compete against Anwar who is currently awaiting his appeal in the Federal Court.

This appeal comes after the Court of Appeal sentenced him to five years in jail for sodomising his former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan, six years ago. a

“For the presidential post, as of 12pm on April 11, it still remains two candidates. The first candidate would be Datuk Seri Wan Azizah and second candidate is Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim,” Johari Abdul told the media.

On Thursday, current PKR vice-president Tian Chua and Puchong Division Chief, S Murali announced their withdrawal from contesting for the deputy president post.

Four other candidates who will be contesting for the deputy presidency post are Selangor MB Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, PKR’s secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Batang Kali PKR Chief Datuk K Ramachandran and Azmin Ali.

Selangor exco Elizabeth Wong also withdrew from the crowded PKR vice-president race, leaving 15 candidates fighting for it.

Johari also said candidates must strictly adhere to the election committee’s code of conduct. Failing which, he added, the candidates may be penalised or disqualified from the polls if found guilty.

“Vote-buying, the use of force and violence while campaigning are big no-no's. Candidates are also prohibited from approaching the media to launch verbal attacks against each other,” he said.

Meanwhile, Johari explained that the central leadership had made a decision to consider candidates who has not been a member of the party for more than 12 months to take part in the election.

According to Johari, those who joined the party within the last 12 months can make an appeal to the party president for approval.

“There are currently 247 candidates in the running and this number could increase with the recent decision,” he added.

The party elections will be conducted from April 26 to May 11 where 496,923 eligible members will determine the leadership of the party.