PAN TO GRAB 100 SEATS IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Pekalongan, C Java, Feb 8 (ANTARA) - The general chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Sutrisno Bachir, said his party wished to grab up to 100 seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) during the legislative elections on April 9, 2009.
He said his party wished to help develop Indonesia into a respectable country which could not be dictated by any other country and stand at equal footing with Japan and China.
"Therefore let us together intensify the party's collection of votes in the legislative election in 2009. We hope PAN could become a big party to help lead the country to be a New Indonesia," he said in his directives to the party's legislative candidates from across Central Java.
At present PAN controls only 33 out of more than 500 DPR seats and therefore it hopes it could secure 100 seats in this year's elections.
Sutrisno Bachir said the implementation of the general elections this year would be different from that of the previous year because people would no longer look at the party but at candidates.
"Candidates must build relationship with community members and must not be arrogant if they wish to be elected," he said.
He said candidates also had to adapt themselves to the condition of the community. "If a community is the base of Nahdlatul Ulama members they must adapt themselves to it," he said.
He said the PAN executive board had assigned its cadres to help increase PAN votes in six electoral regions namely the Riau islands, Bangka Belitung, West Sumatra, Gorontalo, Papua and North Maluku where the party's votes were low in the last general elections.
"Out of the 77 electoral regions only six that gave minimal votes to the party so that the party has assigned its candidates to increase the vote collection in the regions," he said