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As Aburizal's chances fade, Golkar eyes VP post
Here it is, sir: A General Elections Commission (KPU) official hands out literature to Afghanistan Ambassador to Indonesia Ghulam Sakhi Ghairat (right) and the Peruvian Embassyâs deputy chief of mission, Guillermo Bernos, (left) during a seminar held by the KPU to familiarize the foreign envoys with the legislative election at Hotel Borobudur in Jakarta on Tuesday
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Here it is, sir: A General Elections Commission (KPU) official hands out literature to Afghanistan Ambassador to Indonesia Ghulam Sakhi Ghairat (right) and the Peruvian Embassyâs deputy chief of mission, Guillermo Bernos, (left) during a seminar held by the KPU to familiarize the foreign envoys with the legislative election at Hotel Borobudur in Jakarta on Tuesday. (JP/Jerry Adiguna) (KPU) official hands out literature to Afghanistan Ambassador to Indonesia Ghulam Sakhi Ghairat (right) and the Peruvian Embassyâs deputy chief of mission, Guillermo Bernos, (left) during a seminar held by the KPU to familiarize the foreign envoys with the legislative election at Hotel Borobudur in Jakarta on Tuesday. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
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span class="inline inline-none">Here it is, sir: A General Elections Commission (KPU) official hands out literature to Afghanistan Ambassador to Indonesia Ghulam Sakhi Ghairat (right) and the Peruvian Embassy's deputy chief of mission, Guillermo Bernos, (left) during a seminar held by the KPU to familiarize the foreign envoys with the legislative election at Hotel Borobudur in Jakarta on Tuesday. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
An organization seeking the truth about the disappearances of student activists in 1998 has announced its support for the Golkar Party's advisory council head, Akbar Tandjung, to be nominated as a vice presidential candidate, a move that could be another blow to the party's presidential candidate, Aburizal Bakrie, who has been struggling to raise his low electability rating.
The Indonesian Network (Jari), which organized a two-day national meeting in Jakarta, held a press conference last week to announce support for Akbar's nomination.
'We have agreed to support Akbar as a vice presidential candidate for the July presidential election. He possesses the right qualifications to be a national leader,' Jari coordinator Marzul Veri, who is also head of the organization's West Sumatra chapter, told the media.
Hamdani Hamid, Jari's secretary-general, said representatives would officially hand over its written declaration of support for Akbar to him in person.
Jari also planned to expand its network to include district levels to mobilize support for Akbar, Hamdani said.
Akbar was not present at the conference. 'He canceled his attendance at the last minute, saying he had urgent matters to attend to,' he said.
Akbar is a seasoned politician who enjoys strong support within Golkar. Under his leadership of the party between 1998 and 2004, he accomplished the herculean task of reviving the party's image after the fall of president Soeharto, with whom Golkar was synonymous throughout his 31 years in power.
Siti Zuhro, a political researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said Akbar's growing support could negatively affect Golkar's electoral chances ahead of the April 9 legislative election.
'Akbar is undeniably popular. Surveys still name Akbar a prospective candidate, even though he himself has not yet launched a political maneuver,' she said, adding that if the former Golkar chairman had campaigned for his own candidacy, his electability may have risen even higher.
Siti said the proposed nomination of Akbar to be a vice presidential candidate paired with another party's presidential candidate could distract voters who supported Golkar.
She added that Jari's announcement to support Akbar also indicated poor consolidation within Golkar under Aburizal's leadership.
Besides Akbar, another former Golkar chairman, Jusuf Kalla, has also been touted a potential vice presidential candidate.
Kalla no longer holds an official position in the party's central executive board but the former vice president still has massive support, particularly from Golkar members in the eastern half of Indonesia.
Anwar Adnan, head of Golkar's West Sulawesi chapter, admitted that support for Kalla in the province was still overwhelming.
'It is normal to see him as a potential vice presidential candidate. We have decided to nominate Aburizal as our presidential candidate but this may change following the results of the upcoming legislative election,' he said on Sunday as quoted by Antara news agency.
Both Akbar and Kalla have been tipped as potential running mates for Jakarta Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) presidential candidate.
Several surveys show that Jokowi would win the presidency if he was paired with either Akbar or Kalla.
'We will respect Kalla's decision if he runs as Jokowi's running mate,' Anwar said.
Senior Golkar lawmaker and executive Yorrys Raweyai, who is also a member of the party's 'Eastern Indonesia faction' to which Kalla also belongs, previously said that Golkar should consider 'officially but not formally' pairing Kalla with another party's presidential candidate, while at the same time letting Aburizal run as presidential candidate.
'The nomination of [Golkar chairman] Aburizal Bakrie as Golkar's presidential candidate is, indeed, final. There's no chance of any other Golkar member being nominated as its presidential candidate. Okay, then, let's nominate Kalla for vice president,' he said.
Yorrys has long voiced his concern over Aburizal's nomination, given the latter's low level of support among voters, as indicated in a number of surveys. Aburizal has been struggling to compete against Jokowi and the Gerindra Party's presidential candidate, Prabowo Subianto.
