The graft-ridden Democratic Party remains optimistic in its bid to secure 15 percent of the total votes in the 2014 presidential election, 6 percent less than the total that the party bagged in 2009.
“We are sure that we will reach the 15 percent mark, and maybe even exceed it,” Syarief Hasan, the party’s managing chairman, said on Wednesday.
“Surveys may show lower numbers, but with enough hard work, we’re optimistic about reaching the target.”
The results of a survey released over the weekend by the Center for Strategic and International Studies showed dwindling public support for the Democratic Party after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took over as chairman following several graft cases that culminated with the resignation of Anas Urbaningrum, the party’s previous chairman.
Yudhoyono accepted his appointment as chairman in March.
The party slid to fourth place in CSIS’s survey with only 7.1 percent of respondents saying they would vote for it.
J. Kristiadi, a senior CSIS researcher, said at a press conference on Sunday that Yudhoyono’s strength was very much backed by his image, which made him vulnerable as the leader of a political party and even more so as president.
Ideally, Yudhoyono should be backed by the success of his accomplishments as a leader, instead of his image, which he could very easily lose, Kristiadi said.
In response to the CSIS survey, Syarif expressed his gratitude and said that such surveys served as useful feedback for the party in making improvements and in their evaluations ahead of the 2014 elections.
The survey, he said, was a motivation to work harder in achieving the targets.
“We will work harder. The survey has pushed us to work harder and better. There’s no other way to achieve the target we have set but by working and working,” said Syarif, who is also the minister for cooperatives and small and medium enterprises.
Another poll by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) also showed the party declining in popularity, with the Democrats winning over only 11 percent of respondents in a March survey, down from 13 percent in February last year.
Another pollster body, the National Survey Media (Median), pointed out earlier this month that nearly 77 percent of Democratic Party voters in 2009 had decided to cast their ballots for other parties next year, according to an April poll. That represented the biggest loss among all party that took part in the 2009 elections.
“The Democrats certainly have a lot of work to do,” said Philips J. Vermonte, another senior CSIS researcher.
by: Robertus Wardi
source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/with-the-odds-against-them-democrats-are-still-optimistic/
