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eneging on a pledge not to seek reelection, the chairman of the Democratic Party and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said that he will run for reelection during a national party congress next month.

Yudhoyono said in his speech at the national meeting of the Democratic Party'€™s youth wing that he was willing to be reelected for the 2015-2020 term.

'€œParty members nationwide have asked me to lead the Democratic Party again. If that'€™s really what the majority wants, then God willing, I accept it and I will do my best,'€ said Yudhoyono, who stepped down from power in October last year.

Yudhoyono took over the party leadership from Anas Urbaningrum in 2013 after the latter was named a graft suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

At the Democratic Party congress in Bali in 2013, during which he was crowned party chairman, Yudho
yono said that he would not seek re-election.

'€œIn two years at the most, immediately after the elections [in 2014], I will end my tenure. So [I will only serve as chairman] for a year and a half . After that, a regular party congress will choose a definitive chairman to replace me based on the existing cycle,'€ he claimed.

Gede Pasek Suardika, a Democratic Party politician who has expressed an interest in running as a candidate for the party'€™s top post, accused Yudhoyono of bad faith and urged him to keep his promise.

'€œHe should honor his pledge and statement made during the congress [in 2013] when he said that he would lead the Democratic Party only until 2015. Let'€™s remember Gajah Mada, who stuck to his Sumpah Palapa oath and was remembered for that,'€ Pasek said, referring to the famed prime minister of the Majapahit kingdom.

Pasek, an Anas loyalist, said he suspected that Yudhoyono was being used by certain element s within the party to maintain their control over the party.

He singled out executive chairman Syariefuddin Hasan, whom he accused of riding the coattails of Yudhoyono, also known as SBY.

'€œPeople like him are pushing SBY to become chairman again. They stand to benefit the most. If they run, then they won'€™t get any support, so they hide behind SBY so they can run the party,'€ Pasek said.

Besides Pasek, former House of Representatives speaker Marzuki Alie, has also publicly stated his intention to run for party chairman.

Marzuki, who currently serves as deputy chairman of the party'€™s Supreme Council, said that it was time for Yudhoyono to step down, suggesting that the former president could become an elder statesmen for the party.

'€œSBY is neither a foe nor an enemy. We just want him in the best position,'€ he said, claiming that the majority of the party'€™s regional branches would prefer Yudhoyono to serve as advisor to the party.

In the third Democratic Party national congress, which will take place in Surabaya, East Java, 34 party provincial leaders and at least 500 leaders of the party'€™s regional branches will cast their votes in the party chairmanship race.

The congress'€™ organizing committee has also set up a mechanism that would make it difficult for rivals to challenge Yudhoyono, requiring that candidates obtain support of 30 to 40 percent of the party before being eligible for nomination, up from 20 percent.