Jakarta. Dahlan Iskan, the most popular contender in the Democratic Party convention, has officially joined the party.
The state-owned enterprise minister announced his decision to officially join the Democratic Party in front of his supporters in Magelang, Central Java on Sunday.
Dahlan said he finally made up his mind about joining the party after witnessing the efforts made by his supporters, which have made him the strongest contender for the convention according to various survey.
“The difference with another contender is quite sharp,” he told Tempo newspaper.
Dahlan said he would prepare himself for the presidential election to carry out the wishes and requests made by his supporters.
He said he was committed not to join the political campaign before the convention period was over.
Another contender for the convention, Pramono Edhie Wibowo, said Dahlan’sdecision to join the Democrats would strengthen the party for the upcoming election.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was scheduled to inaugurate Dahlan but it had to be postponed because the president made a visit to Riau province to monitor the efforts to mitigate severe forest fires and haze in the area, which caused nearly 60,000 people to suffer from respiratory problems.
“I welcome Dahlan. The Democratic Party will now grow even stronger,” the former army chief of staff said.
Pramono, who is Yudhoyono’s brother-in-law, said he wished all contenders for the Democrats convention could join the party.
The Democratic Party previously announced that was targeting 15 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives in next month’s legislative elections.
A recent poll suggests that Yudhoyono’s ruling party may be able to weather a series of high-profile corruption cases that sent public perception of the once-favored party into free-fall, the party’s managing chairman, Syarief Hassan explained.
The Democratic Party appointed the Saiful Mujani Research & Consulting group to conduct a pre-election poll. The findings determined that the ruling party came in third behind the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party.
The PDI-P led the poll with 16 percent, while Golkar came in with 15 percent and the Democratic Party with 10.6 percent, according to Syarief.
The poll was a small improvement over previous reports that saw the Democratic Party polling in single digits. A December 2021 poll by the same organization found the party’s electability at 8.3 percent. The party now believes it can net 15 percent of the seats.
The goal, if achieved, would still place it below the 25 percent threshold to field a candidate in the presidential election without establishing a coalition. The party is currently part of a ruling coalition that includes the Golkar, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the National Mandate Party (PAN).
The Democratic Party has embarked on a highly publicized convention to pick its presidential candidate. Several contenders have entered the debates, including Gita Wirjawan, Dahlan Iskan and Dino Patti Djalal.
Pramono is also a favored candidate.
The Democratic Party took the 2009 presidential and legislative elections with landslide wins but its electability has suffered in recent years after several high-profile corruption cases involved some of its most prominent members.
Source/Fuente: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/dahlan-officially-joins-democrats/
