GOLKAR OPTIMISTIC IT WILL COLLECT 30 PERCENT OF VOTES 8

Bandarlampung, Jan 30 (ANTARA) - The Golkar Party is optimistic it is able to collect 30 percent of votes in the legislative elections to be held next April 9.

"The national target is 30 percent and so all party functionaires from central to the lowest levels including legislative candidates must keep fighting for it," the party's vice chairman, Agung Laksono, said here on Thursday.
On the failure of the party in several local elections, he said that it was not true. "Golkar secured around 42 percent of the district/city elections but indeed it only secured around 20 percent of the provincial elections," he said.
So, he said, Golkar remained optimistic it would collect 30 percent of the votes because the votes were in districts/cities.
The chief of the Lampung Golkar branch, Alzier Dianis Thabranie, meanwhile said that in the 2004 general elections, Golkar was able to win 16 legislative seats in the province and one of the party's legislative members became the chairman of the province's legislative assembly.
"Our target is not decreasing. We even predict we are able to win 20 to 25 seats in the province's legislative assembly," he said.
He said however that it could only be achieved if each cadre in central, provincial or district/city levels would work hard for them.
"Sorry to say that candidates for the House of Representatives are seldom to go to regions to communicate with party cadres except those who believe they will go to Senayan (to sit in the House of Representatives)," he said.