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Dems say unanimous reelection of SBY as party chief is likely
Only weeks before the Democratic Partyâs national congress, its central board says that it will unanimously reelect former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as the partyâs chairman
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nly weeks before the Democratic Party's national congress, its central board says that it will unanimously reelect former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as the party's chairman.
Yudhoyono, who co-founded the party in 2001, was chief patron until he was elected chairman in 2013 during an extraordinary national congress convened when then-chairman Anas Urbaningrum was implicated in graft.
While Yudhoyono said he would lead the party until Anas' term expired in May, support has been growing for his reelection.
'There is no doubt that Pak SBY has become a unifying figure [for the Democrats] who can be universally accepted by all members of the party,' his son, party secretary-general and lawmaker Edhie Baskoro 'Ibas' Yudhoyono, said on Saturday.
'All [party members] are confident that Pak SBY's vast experience, knowledge, statesmanship and his ability to always find a middle ground [in politics], will help the Democratic Party regain its path of success and golden era,' Ibas said.
Ibas said he expected that Yudhoyono would be unanimously reelected as chairman.
The party, which became a political powerhouse after Yudhoyono's ascension to high office, saw its popularity decline after several Democratic Party politicians, including Anas and beauty-queen-turned-lawmaker Angelina Sondakh, were sentenced to prison for graft in 2014.
Despite the party's meager 10.2-percent showing in this year's legislative election, Yudhoyono brokered an alliance with the opposition Red-and-White Coalition, installing party members in leadership posts at the House of Representatives and the People Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Party deputy chairman Agus Hermanto said Yudhoyono's work over the last year made him the strongest candidate for the party's leadership.
'There are many people who want to [challenge Yudhoyono], but it will be impossible without enough support from party members. Everyone must accept the fact,' he told reporters.
The party recently decided to move up the date of its third national congress from May 2015 to an unspecified date early next year to prepare for regional elections.
Among Yudhoyono's potential challengers in the race are said to be former House speaker Marzuki Alie and former lawmaker Gede Pasek Suardika, currently a Regional Representatives Council (DPD) member for Bali.
Pasek, an Anas confidant, said he would press ahead with his bid. 'This party [runs] with a family spirit, but it is not a 'family party',' he told reporters.
Hasan Nasbi of Jakarta-based pollster Cyrus Network said that Yudhoyono's possible reelection would confirm the party's overreliance on one man who would be 70 when his next term ends.
'If he allows younger party members to contest the party's upcoming leadership election, he can help ensure that the party remains solid during the leadership transition,' Hasen said.
In contrast, Said Salahuddin of People's Synergy for Democracy in Indonesia (Sigma), said that the party needed Yudhoyono to maintain its influence after its poor electoral showing.
'The Democratic Party is in dire need of powerful lobby to maintain its political influence for the next five years. That can only be achieved if Yudhoyono, the party's best and most experienced member, leads the party,' he said.
