GOLKAR TARGETS 40 PERCENT OF VOTES IN 2014

Medan, Jan 16 (ANTARA) - Golkar Party targets collecting at least 40 million votes in the next general elections in 2014 and become the winner of the elections, its general chairman, Aburizal Bakrie, said.

"Our target is that Golkar will be chosen by at least 40 million voters in the 2014 general elections," he said after installing the North Sumatra party's regional board members here on Saturday.

To meet the target, he said, the party had to immediately conduct consolidation and caderization down to village levels.

He said during the process the party hoped it could mobilize at least 100 cadres in each village plus 300 sympathisers.

"If the target of 100 cadres plus 300 symphetizers is achieved we will have at least 40 million voters in the 2014 general elections and it means Golkar will again emerge as the winner," he said.

Aburizal admitted that it would not be easy to achieve it as other parties would certainly also collect sympathizers.

"It is not an easy job but it is neither impossible to achieve it together. We will work hard to meet the target," he said.

Aburizal meanwhile said the party wished to be able to win at least 50 percent of local elections in every province.

To meet the target he said the party would change the pattern of selecting the party's candidates for the elections from formerly through a provincial level party convention to a survey-based selection.

He said candidates of local leaders who wished to be nominated by Golkar would be surveyed and later determined by the party's central executive board with regard to their electability.

"As of now we will only nominate cadres who are supported not by some party elites like done through conventions so far but by the people based on survey results. So regional party leaders will not be automatically nominated as candidates for local leadership," he said.

He said a team would be set up by the party's national executive board to discuss the survey results, led directly by the party's general chairman.

"Who we are going to nominate will be discussed and determined by the team, certainly based upon the survey results. So we can assure that only figures who are really supported by the people will be nominated," he said.

In view of that he advised all who wished to become local leaders to reach out to the people to win their support, adding the nomination of candidates would be determined very much by the survey results.

"We will stick to 'People's Votes, Golkar's Votes' committment. So only those really supported by the people will be nominated by the party for local leaders. Based on that we believed the target of winning 50 percent of local elections would be achieved," he said.***1***