The party’s chief patron, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said the party should achieve this by rejecting vote buying and unhealthy rivalry in the chairmanship election.

“No matter how fierce the competition, we must remain fair. [We have to] prevent that practice that justifies all means — money politics. Don’t employ a strategy of ‘divide-and-conquer’ to win the chairmanship election,” he said during the opening ceremony of the party’s second national congress here Friday.

Competition should be managed to prevent overt friction between cadres, he said.

“All party cadres and those competing in the chairmanship election should maintain the party’s dignity by adhering to political ethics and morality.”

The President was referring to the fierce competition between the three candidates contending the election scheduled to be held Saturday evening.

Andi Alfian Mallarangeng, now youth and sports minister and his rival Anas Urbaningrum, who is chairman of the party’s faction at the House of Representatives, are going head-to-head to collect political support for their bid to lead the party for the next five years.

Andi and Anas have both claimed they have won political support from the majority of delegates attending the congress, while Marzuki Alie has been accused of using money politics by distributing cash to regional functionaries.

Tension at the congress increased when Anas and Andi held separate press conferences in which they both expressed their utmost confidence of having won enough political support from delegates, while at the same time rumors were spreading that the election could employ the electronic e-voting system.

Asked about the rumors, Anas said the e-voting system constituted a closed election  mechanism, “and we don’t know how fair and accurate it is because it should be audited by an independent auditor before it is implemented”.

Chairman of the congress organizing committee Didik Mukriyanto said the committee had made the technical preparations to ensure the e-voting system would work properly if it was to be used.

“The e-voting mechanism is accountable and transparent,” he said, adding that all votes would be
verified either electronically or manually.

Outgoing chairman Hadi Utomo also called all candidates to play fair  and not to compete for the selves but for the advancement of the party.

Delivering his address at the official opening ceremony of the Democratic Party’s second congress, the President underlined the importance of developing “a civilized political culture.”

He said Indonesia had survived the 1998 economic crisis and entered the reform era on the back of collective hard work. Competition, including political competition, must be balanced with cooperation and unity, he said.

Observer Dede Mariana of the  Padjadjaran University in Bandung said the President’s speech reflected his “disappointment” with the recent rivalry among politicians and political parties whose efforts to gain power  “have disturbed the running of government.”

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