KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — The DAP today announced the appointment of PKF Accountants and Business Advisers as the auditors who will oversee the party’s central executive committee (CEC) re-elections on September 29.

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming (picture), who is the returning officer for the re-election, said PKF has already begun work scrutinising processes related to the coming polls.

“They have been with us from the very beginning, starting with the sending out of notices which was something that was disputed by some delegates,” he said at a press conference.

According to PKF Malaysia’s website, the firm is part of PKF International which runs a global operation spanning countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East, among others.

The firm describes its expertise as covering local accounting, audit and taxation practices aside from also providing services in consulting, management and business operations.

Prior to the 13th general election last May 5, the DAP faced the possibility of being deregistered after the RoS homed in on alleged discrepancies during the party’s elections.

This included a complaint by a group of delegates, who claimed that 753 of them did not receive any official notification of the congress date, a charge that the party leadership has denied.

Also highlighted was a “technical glitch” in software used to tally votes, which saw Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari — who was then political secretary to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng — secure 20th position and automatically qualify for a spot on the powerful CEC, despite finishing 35th overall on the initial count.

The RoS ordered the party to hold fresh elections, a directive that the DAP initially resisted but has since accepted under protest.

Ong today said to avoid a similar “glitch” from happening, they will conduct testing this weekend on the spreadsheets that will be used for the CEC re-elections, and also use both manual and computer tabulation processes come polling day.

The party will also use indelible ink, though Ong noted that it will not last for more than a few hours as they expect polling to end within two hours.

PKF, meanwhile, will keep a keen eye on procedures for ballot preparation, issuance, casting and counting, and will go through the final results before they can be announced, he added.

Ong said the party will continue to use the same list of 68 candidates that was used in the December 15 party polls, even after several candidates have already announced that their withdrawal from the contest.

“We take note of their announcements, but their names will remain on the list. If they are elected, then they are elected, but I think the likelihood of them being voted in is slim as I’m sure the delegates and members would take that into consideration,” he said.

So far, those who have confirmed their withdrawal include Choong Siew Onn, Er Teck Hwa, Jaya Balan Valliappan, Teo Kok Seong, Yong Wui Wui and most recently Ng Wei Aik.

Fomer Seremban MP John Fernandez is automatically out of the race by virtue of his resignation from the party.

DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke, meanwhile, repeated the party’s position in forging ahead with party polls, despite an application for an injunction to stop it from proceeding.

“As far as we are concerned, we are proceeding as planned. Our preparations are ongoing, and we hope the court wil give a clear decision to enable us to move forward,” he said at a press conference here.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court will on September 25 hear an application for an injunction filed by former DAP member David Dass Aseerpatham, seeking to stop the congress from proceeding as it violates stipulations under the party constitution.

The party has since filed an application to strike out the suit.