Democratic Party loses in Riau elections

Candidates from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party performed poorly in four regional elections in Riau held simultaneously on Saturday.

Quick counts conducted after the elections in the regencies of Indragiri Hulu, Dumai, Bengkalis and Meranti Islands found t hat the Democratic Party’s tickets failed to win the most votes. As if to add insult to injury, the party’s candidate Tengku Razmara and his running mate Herawati finished fourth in the election in Indragiri Hulu.

Secretary of the party’s Riau chapter, Sayeed Abu Bakar, accepted the defeat, which he said was beyond his expectation as the party secured nearly 60 percent of the vote in both the legislative and presidential elections in 2009.

“Initially we were optimistic of winning the regional elections, particularly in Dumai and Indragiri Hulu. The losses are beyond our expectation,” Sayeed said as quoted by Antara state news agency.

He added, however, the multiple defeats would give the party a blessing in disguise.

“We will evaluate our performance and find out what we have missed. Hopefully we can bounce back and win the three other regional elections in Pekanbaru, Rokan Hulu and Pelalawan next year,” he said.