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PAN congress to open in Bali
Hundreds of National Mandate Party (PAN) officials arrived in Denpasar, Bali, to attend the partyâs three-day national congress scheduled to open on Saturday
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H
undreds of National Mandate Party (PAN) officials arrived in Denpasar, Bali, to attend the party's three-day national congress scheduled to open on Saturday.
Chairman of PAN's Bali chapter Nyoman Gede Suweta said at the congress' venue on Saturday that around 1,500 party members, mostly functionaries from all 34 provinces, regencies and municipalities were expected to take part in the event.
'Most participants have arrived. The congress will open in the evening,' tribunnews.com quoted him as saying.
Weeks before the congress, two names were tipped for the party's top post 'incumbent chairman Hatta Rajasa and deputy chairman Zulkifli Hasan.
Many functionaries from the country's western region such as Sumatra and Java have voiced their support for Hatta while most functionaries from the eastern regions, including Sulawesi, Kalimantan and Papua have aired their support for Zulkifli.
The party's executive board has been also divided with party founder Amien Rais nominating Zulkifli.
Amien, also PAN's maiden chairman, said he nominated Zulkifli not because they were in-laws but for regeneration purposes.
Nico Harjanto, a political analyst from the Populi Center, said the congress would become a fight arena for the two candidates.
According to him, the winner of the party's chairmanship election would be determined not only by the candidates' vision and mission but also by their money to buy participants' votes.
In spite of who won the chairmanship, the party would stay out of the government, he said.
PAN deputy chairman Dradjad Wibowo said most members of the party's executive board supported Hatta because besides his experience in the legislative and executive bodies, he was well known.
'Most regional functionaries have voiced their support for Hatta,' he said.
Zulkifli said recently that if he was entrusted to lead the sunrise party for the next five years, he would hold a convention to select a presidential candidate who would be nominated in the 2019 general election while the nomination of functionaries to contest local elections would be entrusted with the party's regional chapters and branches. (rms)
