PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) looks set to retain Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the party president as her only challenger and husband, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, has officially withdrawn from the race.

In announcing this, PKR election director Datuk Johari Abdul said the committee received Anwar's letter to withdraw from the contest on April 19 without giving reasons.

"After the difficult few days following the death of Anwar's lawyer (former Democratic Action Party national chairman) Karpal Singh, he has decided on the advice of his legal team to concentrate on his case.

"We do not want the Registrar of Societies and the government to take advantage (of his candidacy), therefore, he willingly withdrew from the race," said Johari, adding that there was no change in the contestants for the other posts.

PKR risked being de-registered if Anwar is adamant in contesting for the presidency.

Anwar's legitimacy to contest has come under scrutiny since Court of Appeal sentenced him to five years in jail for sodomy on March 7.