PKR POLLS | Rafizi Ramli said he conceded defeat to Mohamed Azmin Ali in the PKR deputy presidency race, despite having reasons to appeal, for the greater good of the party.

In a lengthy statement this evening, Rafizi said he would not have suffered the same impact as Azmin had the latter lost the race.

"He is a senior minister, a two-term incumbent and former menteri besar. Losing to an unemployed person will force him to disappear from the political arena," said Rafizi.

In view of this, Rafizi said it was unlikely that Azmin's supporters would have taken defeat easily.

Throughout the statement, Rafizi mentioned four times that Azmin's winning margin was only two percent of the total votes cast.

"The election result is very clear. Azmin's popular vote is only 51 percent– that's a two percent margin over mine. It reflects the (diametric) directions (in the party) which are equally strong and important.

"The message being sent by the members, which allowed Azmin – a senior minister, incumbent of eight years and former menteri besar – to win with less than two percent (margin), is a message which he has to reflect upon," said Rafizi.

Given that the winning margin was so small, Rafizi said that the many irregularities he had raised in the past – unfair handling of the elections, missing votes, "data wiping" in Julau and the disruption of Internet connections, among others – were reasons to hold a fresh election, but he didn't pursue it.

"I have a strong case to insist on fresh elections ... However, I am