Akbar wins full backing of party board<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Golkar's presidential convention will not take place until
\nTuesday, but Akbar Tandjung has already secured the full backing
\nof the party's Central Executive Board (DPP).<\/p>\n
Six days before party leaders and other members pick their
\nflag-bearer for the July 5 direct presidential election, the DPP
\njumped the gun on Thursday and announced they would back Akbar.<\/p>\n
\"We have agreed to vote for Akbar during the convention
\nbecause he has been able to increase our party's votes (in the
\nlegislative election),\" party deputy leader Mahadi Sinambela
\nannounced on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Golkar, the political machine of former autocrat Soeharto, is
\nleading the provisional tally of votes in the April 5 legislative
\nelection. With some 70 percent of the vote counted, Golkar has
\n20.96 percent of the votes, just ahead of the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) at 19.73 percent.<\/p>\n
The DPP's backing, however, does not necessarily mean a win in
\nthe April 20 presidential convention, which has six presidential
\nhopefuls vying for the top spot, but it could influence the vote
\nof undecided members.<\/p>\n
Under convention rules, the Golkar DPP accounts for just 18
\nvotes, while regental branches (DPD II) and provincial chapters
\naccount for 440 and 96 votes respectively.<\/p>\n
Mahadi admitted that the DPP support would not automatically
\nguarantee a win for Akbar, but stressed that fellow party leaders
\nwanted Akbar to defeat other candidates -- former military chief
\nGen. (ret) Wiranto, media baron Surya Paloh, former Army
\nStrategic Reserves (Kostrad) commander Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo
\nSubianto, businessman Aburizal Bakrie and Coordinating Minister
\nfor People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla.<\/p>\n
The result of the preconvention series last October ended with
\nAburizal ranked first, followed by Surya, Wiranto, Akbar, Kalla,
\nPrabowo and Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, who quit
\nthe race shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Akbar's
\ncorruption conviction in February.<\/p>\n
Some party leaders insinuated that the regental branches and
\nprovincial chapters had backed away from Akbar because of his
\ncorruption conviction, which was still on appeal to the Supreme
\nCourt at that time.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, convention chairman Slamet Effendy Yusuf said on
\nThursday that committee members were still discussing whether to
\nextend the convention to a second round of voting or not.<\/p>\n
He also explained some of the steering committee's curious
\nregulations for the actual vote. One was that they could not take
\ncameras into the voting booth, \"because it could compromise
\nsecrecy\".<\/p>\n
However, the committee requires that regental and provincial
\nchapter delegates be accompanied by their chapter chiefs inside
\nthe polling booth to make sure they vote the right way.<\/p>\n
\"It is designed to keep the mandate of the regional chapters.
\nThe policies are designed to prevent money politics,\" he
\nexplained.<\/p>\n
Slamet emphasized that all six presidential candidates had
\ncommitted to supporting the Golkar Party, regardless of the
\nTuesday's outcome.<\/p>\n
He said that all candidates had agreed that they would not
\naccept offers from other political parties to become their
\npresidential candidates should they lose on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
However, any of Golkar's presidential candidates may accept an
\noffer from other parties to become the running mate of another
\npresidential candidate.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/akbar-wins-full-backing-of-party-board-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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