PDI-P race still open to candidates<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite being denied an invite to the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI-P) national congress, a candidate for the
\nparty's top post, Guruh Soekarnoputra, remains eligible to
\nchallenge the incumbent leader, his sister Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri, a party executive says.<\/p>\n
PDI-P deputy chairman and event organizer Roy B.B. Janis said
\non Thursday that any party members, including Guruh, would be
\nallowed to contest the race although they had not been invited to
\nattend the event, which runs in Bali from Monday through Friday.<\/p>\n
\"Any members are eligible to join the race, if they fulfill
\nall the set conditions,\" Roy said here after speaking at a
\ndiscussion on the future of the party after the Bali congress.<\/p>\n
Prior to making the statement, Roy revealed that Guruh, the
\nyoungest brother of Megawati and so far the strongest candidate
\nto challenge her in the race, was not given the invitation to
\ntake part in the congress.<\/p>\n
Nor were any other members of the party's faction at the House
\nof Representatives, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Apart from representatives from the party provincial and
\nregency branches, only the chairman and secretary of the PDI-P
\nfactions are eligible to take part in the congress,\" he said. The
\ncongress' steering committee has also barred many more party
\nmembers from attending the congress simply because of the limited
\ncapacity of the hotel booked for the congress, the third since
\nthe party was declared in 1998.<\/p>\n
The congress will take place in the Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur,
\na beach in the provincial capital of Denpasar. Organizers have
\nregistered over 1,800 participants of the congress.<\/p>\n
Roy dismissed speculation that the exclusion of Guruh from the
\nattendance list was a ploy initiated by Megawati's camp to
\ndiminish his chance in the race for the party leadership.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the PDI-P central board had given Guruh the privilege
\nto come to the congress as an observer. The party had also
\ndecided that all members of the PDI-P faction in the House would
\nbe invited to the congress. However, that decision was later
\ncanceled.<\/p>\n
Speculation has also been rife on the eve of the congress that
\nto boost Megawati's chances in the race, only local leaders that
\nsupported the incumbent's leadership would be allowed to attend.<\/p>\n
Roy denied these rumors and assured the meeting that party
\nmembers involved in the movement to replace Megawati, including
\nbusinessman-cum-politician Arifin Panigoro and former state
\nminister for state enterprises Laksamana Sukardi, would be
\nallowed to attend.<\/p>\n
Roy said that the congress organizing committee had sent
\ninvitations to the two members, which they would not have
\nreceived yet.<\/p>\n
\"Even if they don't get the invitations, they will still have
\nthe right to take part in the congress due to their positions on
\nthe party's central board,\" Roy said.<\/p>\n
Earlier in January, Arifin and Laksamana launched a movement
\nto kick-start a reform drive within the party which they said had
\ntoo long been stalled by Megawati's leadership. The movement
\nseeks to strip Megawati of her special powers in the party and if
\npossible replace her with a more reform-minded figure.<\/p>\n
Separately, Guruh predicted the party congress would
\noutrightly reject Megawati's accountability report because she
\nhad failed to carry out the mandate given to her by the party's
\nlast congress in Semarang in 2000.<\/p>\n
\"Her leadership has failed to guide the party to victory in
\nthe legislative and presidential elections and failed to set up a
\nproper central board. Those three targets were set in the last
\ncongress,\" Guruh said.<\/p>",
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