Observers Say Party Convention Aims To Build Image

News Focus - OBSERVERS SAY PARTY CONVENTION AIMS TO BUILD IMAGE By Andi Abdussalam Jakarta, June 12 (Antara) - Amid public doubts over dedicated political party cadres, the ruling Democratic Party (PD) is planning to launch a national convention to net would-be presidential candidates. This is one of the ways a political party can take to find a qualified presidential candidate from external figures. However, of the 12 political parties eligible to contest in the legislative elections on April 9 next year, only the ruling Democratic Party (PD) has decided to launch a semi-convention. The PD so far has yet to decide its presidential candidate in the face of the presidential election scheduled to take place on July 9, 2014. Political parties winning 20 percent of the 560 parliamentary seats at stake or 25 percent of the valid votes in the next legislative elections are entitled to nominate their presidential hopefuls for the presidential elections. Therefore, PD considers that holding a national convention is a factual need to seek for a presidential candidate for the presidential race. "All presidential candidates of political parties are doubted (by the public). None of them are really favored. But I do not believe that this big nation has no dedicated leaders," Ahmad Mubarok, a member of PD`s Board of Patrons, said last week. He said that the Democratic Party had no internal or external figures who were favored because all of them were questioned (by the public). The longer a figure puts him or herself on ads the more questions the public would raise. Thus, Ahmad Mubarok said, his party would hold a national convention to provide a gate for potential candidates who had no political vehicles to the presidential race. "This is a true convention because in realities, the party has no internal figures who are appropriate to be nominated as a candidate. However, there are possibly external figures out there who they do not have a chance and a political vehicle. So, we are opening an opportunity for them," Ahmad said. Deputy General Chairman of the Democratic Party Max Sopacua said his party would organize a national convention with a semi-open system to net a presidential candidate. The convention will be carried out by a committee which is to be established in the middle of June 2013. The committee is expected to net figures and select a presidential candidate among them. In carrying out the agenda, the committee will cooperate with survey institutions to assess the electability and credibility of candidates. According to Ahmad Mubarok, his party was serious in its intention to launch a national convention because it will involve the public and vocal figures in providing inputs. Therefore, he refuted the assumption that the party would hold a convention only as a means of improving its image. Many have assumed that actually the Democratic Party already had its own presidential hopeful. "We will organize the convention because we do not have one. Other political parties will nominate their own general chairmen but our general chairman could no longer be nominated as a presidential candidate (because he has served two terms as the country`s president). So, we really have no appropriate candidate," Ahmad said referring to PD General Chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who by the Constitution could no longer be nominated for the third term. Political observers like Budiatna and Iberamsjah of the University of Indonesia as well as Toto Sugiarto of the Sugeng Saryadi Syndicate (SSS) said PD`s decision to launch a convention was an effort to improve its negative image. "The Democratic Party, like other political parties whose image is now not so good, cleverly accommodates clean men. It is just like a public minivan, because it is vacant of passengers, then it offers seats to passenger for free," Budiatna said. He said that the absence of clean internal figures had led the party to take a realistic step to improve its image. The plan of external figures such as Mahfud MD (former chairman of the Constitutional Court), Gita Wirjwan (trade minister) and Dahlan Iskan (state-enterprise minister) to take part in the convention was a good chance for the PD to improve its image. "Because PD is not in `good sale` they offer it for free to other people. It offers to all people viewed by the public as clean figures," he said adding that this step would be mutually beneficial between the party and those who had no political vehicles. Political analyst Toto Sugiarto of the Sugeng Saryadi Syndicate (SSS) also has the same opinion. He said that the party would hold a convention to improve its image in the eyes of the public and to show as if it heard the public aspirations. But according to the SSS political analyst, the party indeed already had its own presidential candidate. Thus, the convention will only serve as a means of improving its image as if the party had been democratic. "The semi-open convention indicates that the party is not serious in seeking external candidates. This will not be good for the Democratic Party ahead because it will prove that the party is full of dishonesty and tricks," he said. He said that with a semi open system, participants of the convention would be decided by the party elites. "If a convention is to be held it must really be open, transparent and assessment should be carried out by all stakeholders not by the party elite only. Besides, he said that he was suspicious of certain deals that could arise between certain candidates and the party elite through the holding of a semi-convention. Thus, convention will not become a decisive factor in selecting a candidate. Toto said that the statements made by a number of PD leaders who offered the convention to national figures indicated that they were not serious in organizing the convention. He said that he was afraid the national figures would only be used to create image and to show that the Democratic Party was an open party by inviting them to its convention. After all, according to political analyst Iberamsjah, all political parties already had in mind their own respective presidential candidates. He said it was difficult for external figures like Dahlan Iskan and Gita Wirjawan to become a presidential hopeful because all political parties already had their own candidates. Political parties will be firm to support their internal figures to become candidates. Convention will not be carried out seriously. "The Democratic Party`s plan to launch a convention, for example, is only a trick. This means that external candidates such as Dahlan and Gita will not have a political vehicle," he said.