The ailing Democratic Party continued to reach out to non-party members this week, naming a 2014 presidential candidate selection committee of mostly outsiders in an effort to bolster popularity and distance itself from a series of high-profile graft cases that have tainted the party’s once clean image.
The committee consists of seventeen people — seven party members and ten independents — who are tasked with selecting the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate. The group met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at his residence in Cikeas to begin the process on Monday.
Among the independent committee members are Soegeng Sarjadi, a political consultant and TVRI talk show host, TP Rahmat, the former chief executive officer of Astra International and Efendi Ghazali, a communications expert.
The committee is being chaired by Muhammad Maftuh Basyuni, the former minister of religious affairs and a prominent member of Nadhlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization.
Despite Maftuh’s NU connections, his appointment to the committee is unlikely to generate a groundswell of party support in the Islamic organization, said Andrianof Chaniago, a political expert at the University of Indonesia.
The Democrats likely struggled to find competent candidates to serve on the committee, he said.
“The convention is not something sexy and I doubt top-notch candidates would want to join it,” Andrianof said. “There are not many public figures who would want to join it.”
The Democratic Party, by all accounts, is facing an uphill battle in 2014. The party swept the 2009 elections, but has seen its popularity decline in recent years as ranking members found themselves embroiled in several high-profile corruption cases.
The party last polled at 8.3 percent, down from the 20.8 percent it earned a year ago.
The committee’s first job will be setting up the selection procedure, Effendi said. Yudhoyono has given the committee complete autonomy to manage the upcoming convention, he added.
“SBY hopes that the committee can gather highly qualified candidates [who are] outside the existing pool,” he said.
The party has already assembled a list of eleven candidates interested in running with on Democratic Party’s ticket, Jero Wacik, Secretary of Democratic Party High Assembly, said. He declined to release the names of the potential candidates.
The ticket is open to any qualified candidates, he said, but presidential hopefuls from other political parties will have to first leave their party. If chosen, the candidates would later become members of the Democratic Party, Jero said.
The party will likely target popular, but unaffiliated public figures like Minister of Trade Gita Wirjawan and Regional Representatives Council Chairman Irman Gusman. House Speaker Marzuki Alie and former Army Chief Pramono Edhie Wibowo have also expressed interest from within the party’s ranks.
The 2014 presidential race already features a crowded ticket of hopefuls including tycoon Aburizal Bakrie, former Kopassus special forces leader Prabowo Subianto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa and Rhoma “the King of Dangdut” Irama.
by: Ezra Sihite
source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/democratic-party-commitee-starts-2014-selection-process/
