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.