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politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has withdrawn his nomination to be ambassador to Italy at the last minute, with many saying politicking and a communication failure are the reasons behind the withdrawal.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had proposed to the House of Representatives a list of candidates, including PDI-P politician Mohammad Prakosa, to fill vacant posts in many countries around the world.

Prakosa, who chairs the House’s ethics council, confirmed the withdrawal of his nomination to The Jakarta Post but quickly revised his statement, saying he had asked for the President’s second thoughts on his nomination.

“There are two reasons: personal matters and my party assignment in the House and the ethics council,” he told the Post on Monday, declining to elaborate further.

PDI-P faction leader Tjahjo Kumolo confirmed Parkosa’s withdrawal from the nomination process, saying Prakosa conveyed his withdrawal to a House team handling the screening for ambassadors, newsportal detik.com reported on Monday.

“Considerations of personal and party matters are still taken into account even after the official nomination,” Prakosa said.

Accordingly he said he sent a letter to the President on Aug. 10, with copies to Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam and the House’s speakers, asking for the President to reconsider his nomination as ambassador to Italy for personal and party reasons.

Dipo refused to comment on the matter when contacted by the Post, saying it was a matter for the foreign minister.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene also refused to comment despite the fact that the ministry is responsible for ambassadors and that the nomination mechanism begins with the ministry and goes through to the Cabinet secretariat, the President and finally the House.

University of Indonesia international relations expert Syamsul Hadi said he suspected that the decision was politically motivated as Prakosa came from the PDI-P.

“The PDI-P is probably showing a sign of displeasure toward [the President]. The party leader, Megawati [Soekarnoputri], also didn’t show up on Aug. 17 [during the flag-hoisting ceremony] at State Palace,” he told the Post.

But Prakosa said the decision was not made based on disagreements between former president Megawati and Yudhoyono.