The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)’s upcoming national convention may see party chairwoman and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri eventually succumb to growing pressure to nominate Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo as the party’s presidential candidate, a top party official hinted on Tuesday. Numerous representatives of party local chapters are slated to have a closed-door meeting with Megawati during the convention to convey their aspiration about Jokowi’s presidency bid, head of the party’s faction at the House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, said. “The national convention will mainly discuss preparations for the 2014 legislative and presidential elections and take a stance on the growing political dynamics both inside and outside of the party,” said Puan, who is also the daughter of Megawati. “Jokowi is already in [Megawati’s] radar for sure,” she added. “The issues surrounding Jokowi’s nomination have grown in the party both externally and internally,” Puan said. “Some agree and the others disagree. We’ll see.” The PDI-P national convention is set to take place in Ancol, North Jakarta, from Sept. 6 to 8. As the party’s previous convention has mandated Megawati as the sole power to name the party’s presidential candidate, local party members have high hopes that their meeting with the daughter of former President Soekarno in the upcoming convention could influence her decision on the party’s presidential ticket. Puan admitted that Jokowi was one of PDI-P members who was currently at the peak of his popularity; hence, it would become one of the considerations that PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri would pay attention to. “However, we still need to focus on the legislative elections first,” she said. The 2008 Law on Presidential Election stipulates that only parties or groups of parties who win 25 percent national legislative votes or 20 percent House seats are eligible to nominate a pair of president-vice president candidates. Numerous surveys put Jokowi as the most electable or popular presidential candidate. Earlier this month, a survey by the country’s leading newspaper Kompas showed that Jokowi managed to double his lead over his strongest opponent — Patron of the Greater Indonesian Movement (Gerindra) Party Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto. The survey reveals that in June, 32.5 percent of respondents said they would vote for Jokowi, an increase from 17.7 percent in December last year. Prabowo enjoyed an increase of two percent to 15.1 percent in the same period. The opinion poll also showed that Jokowi stands a greater chance of becoming the next president, outdoing Prabowo and Megawati herself. Puan, however, said that the PDI-P would not greatly take surveys into consideration when naming its presidential candidate. “I believe our chair would know best and make her decision democratically and wisely,” he said. The Indonesian Institute of Sciences’ research professor, Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, said the PDI-P should not delay the declaration of Jokowi’s candidacy because it could boost the party’s electability as well. “If delayed until the legislative election results are released, then it would be too late and this could reduce the party’s votes,” said Ikrar. He predicted that an early announcement of Jokowi’s candidacy would boost the PDI-P’s electability up to 26 percent which would enable the party to propose its own presidential candidate without having to form a coalition with other parties. Also on Tuesday, Great Indonesian Movement (Gerindra)’s top lawmaker Ahmad Muzani claimed that the PDI-P had agreed not to nominate Jokowi as a presidential candidate in 2014. PDI-P’s agreement, according to him, was made as part of the deal behind Gerindra’s decision to support Jokowi in the Jakarta’s gubernatorial race, last year. Jokowi was paired with Basuki Cahaya Purnama, a Gerindra politician. “I am not going into another party’s internal matter but I just want to remind them that Jokowi has promised to complete his service as Jakarta governor until his term ends. This is also for the sake of PDI-P’s and Jokowi’s electability,” he said. Commenting on Muzani, PDI-P Secretary General Tjahjo Kumolo said, “We appreciate external suggestions. Jokowi is our cadre, hence, it is our call whether we want to nominate him or not.” Puan, meanwhile, commented on the suggested deal with Gerindra, saying, “Any political decisions requires negotiation or compensation. It’s like trading. But, it’d be better for us to wait and focus on the legislative election first.”
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 07:16:43 +0000
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