T

he Democratic Party chairman is dismissing speculation that the ruling party has been scouting candidates for the 2014 presidential election.

“The Democratic Party has set 2012 and 2013 as our working years. Therefore, the Democratic Party’s cadres will still continue to work in support of the government’s programs,” party chairman Anas Urbaningrum said on Friday before opening a training program on disaster awareness at the Cibubur campground in East Jakarta.

Anas, a deputy chairman of the party’s high assembly, said he had yet to receive an invitation to a high assembly to discuss presidential candidates.

There is speculation that the party is considering former vice president Jusuf Kalla, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono for the presidential race, even though President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the party’s chief patron, had previously pledged that none of his family members would run.

Party spokeswoman Andi Nurpati earlier said that Ani might be the best candidate as she met the requirements to take the place of her husband.

Anas said that the party was still waiting for a revision to the 2008 Presidential Election Law at the House of Representatives before going ahead with party discussions on presidential candidates.

He said that the House should revise the article on the threshold requirement, which required a party, or a coalition of parties, to control at least 20 percent of the 560 seats in the House in order to be able to nominate a presidential candidate.

“Political parties [propose changes] to that requirement, which differ widely, from 15 percent to 25 percent,” Anas said, adding his party would propose a 15 percent threshold.

He said people would have more presidential candidates to choose from at that threshold, and it would give political parties, or a coalition of political parties, more opportunities to endorse a candidate.

“There would be a maximum of six candidates with a presidential threshold of 15 percent,” he said, as quoted by Antara news agency.

The Democratic Party was not the only party to have discussed potential presidential hopefuls. Golkar and National Mandate Party (PAN) had touted their chairmen as the parties’ presidential aspirants.

Separately, Indria Samego, a political observer and expert at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), welcomed the talks, saying political parties should introduce their presidential candidates as early as possible, citing two reasons.

The first was Indonesia’s vast area.

“Indonesia consists of more than 17,000 islands. The political parties have to reach as many areas as possible,” he said on Friday.

The second reason was the country’s adoption of a direct presidential election.

According to Indria, based on this system, voters must have adequate information to vote for the best candidate.

Indira said that the parties could make good use of mass media to introduce their candidates or they could hold campaigns in various provinces, regencies or villages.

He urged that people take the candidates’ track record into account as the parties might claim that they fight for the public’s interests.

“Do these parties really represent the people? One party may give compensation for votes while the other party may nominate a candidate simply for their relationship to the current president,” he added.

Indria suggested that each political party hold a survey, conducted by independent survey agencies, to name the best candidate. He considered this the most effective way to represent the public. (tas)