19 meet requirements for Golkar presidential bid
19 meet requirements for Golkar presidential bid
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Golkar Party announced on Tuesday that a total of 19 party
figures, including party chairman Akbar Tandjung, had met all the
administrative and legal requirements to be allowed to
participate in the upcoming convention to select a single
presidential candidate, although they had yet to present their
vision and mission statements.
The convention's organizing committee said the 19 candidates
who had passed the preliminary selection process would now have
to present their vision, mission and integrity statements before
being declared eligible to participate in the party's convention
to be held in February, 2004.
The deputy secretary of the organizing committee, Rully
Chairul Azwar, said here on Tuesday that the committee would hold
a meeting on Aug. 21 to determine which of the 19 figures would
be declared qualified to stand for the presidential nomination
during the party's convention.
"All the presidential aspirants will now participate in the
next stage of the selection process. The convention's organizing
committee will ask the 19 candidates to present their vision,
mission and integrity statements before they are declared
qualified to take part in the later selection processes during
the planned convention," he said.
Separately, Akbar expressed his desire to contend the party's
presidential nomination, saying he would not quit the race
despite increasing criticism.
Akbar said that all people, be they Golkar executives or not,
were allowed to participate in the convention. "There is no
reason for me to quit the race," Antara quoted Akbar as saying in
Medan, North Sumatra.
The most important thing, he said, was that all the aspirants
complied with the ground rules set by the organizing committee.
Many politicians and political observers have reacted
cynically to the planned convention, which they said was aimed
only at repairing the party's tarnished image. The party has been
condemned for its role as the political vehicle of former
president Soeharto's authoritarian and corrupt regime.
Many are also cynical about Akbar's presidential ambitions,
which he continues to harbor despite his conviction for graft.
The Central Jakarta District Court last year sentenced Akbar to
three years imprisonment for his involvement in a Rp 40 billion
corruption case. The Jakarta High Court upheld this conviction.
His appeal has yet to be heard by the Supreme Court.
In order to pave the way for Akbar's bid, the convention's
organizing committee has revised the procedural requirements for
the convention.
Previously, every contestant had to show a police certificate
of good conduct to be allowed to take part in the convention.
But, the committee later revised this regulation so that the
production of such a certificate was no longer mandatory.
Separately, Golkar figure Marzuki Achmad said the increasing
criticism of the party was a good thing, claiming that it showed
the party belonged to the whole people
He also called on party figures to react positively to the
increasing criticism.
Golkar presidential nomination contenders
No. Name
1. Aburizal Bakrie
2. Akbar Tandjung
3. Anwar Fuadi
4. Haryono Suyono
5. Jusuf Kalla
6. Kemala Motik
7. Marwah Daud Ibrahim
8. Muhono
9. Muladi
10. Nurullah Marzuki
11. Prabowo Subianto
12. Riafi Siata
13. Setiawan Djody
14. Sultan Hamengkubuwono X
15. Surya Paloh
16. Thabrani Rab
17. Theo L. Sambuaga
18. Tuti Alawiyah
19. Wiranto
Source: Golkar Party