Mahathir closes in on reelection

Mahathir closes in on reelection

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has
crossed the halfway mark to being reelected to the pinnacle of
Malaysia's ruling party while his only possible challenger
languishes far behind.

The 74-year-old Mahathir, in power for almost two decades, had
clinched 33 of the 50 nominations needed to run for the
presidency of the dominant United Malays National Organization
(UMNO) by 3:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. Jakarta time) on Sunday, party
officials said.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who Mahathir wants to
be his eventual successor, had also obtained the minimum 33
nominations qualifying him to vie for UNMO's deputy presidency.

The two men were far ahead of former finance minister Tengku
Razaleigh Hamzah, a 62-year-old prince who narrowly lost to
Mahathir 13 years ago, who had only one nomination for each post.