Golkar machine gears up for regional elections

Golkar machine gears up for regional elections

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After winning the largest number of seats in the House of
Representatives in the 2004 legislative election, the Golkar
Party is preparing its mammoth political machine to grab the
lion's share of top regional administration posts.

Golkar leader Jusuf Kalla said on Saturday that the party
headquarters had decided to set up a "national team" to support
the campaigns for each of its candidates around the country to
win their respective gubernatorial, regental or mayoral
elections.

"The reputation of the party on a national basis cannot
guarantee victory for each of our candidates. There is no
connection whatsoever. A good reputation combined with good
achievements for each candidate plays the most significant role
in a direct election," said Kalla, who is also the country's Vice
President.

Kalla discussed the party's strategy in his opening remarks
during a consultation meeting between the party's central board
(DPP) and regional boards (DPD) from across the country.

More than 160 regional administration leaders including
governors, regents and mayors will soon end their terms. Regional
direct elections are scheduled for June. It will be the first
time in the nation's history that the people have been able to
choose their local leaders.

Kalla said the national team would provide assistance on
specific legislation, regulations and procedures involving
regional campaigns, as well as helping to create a positive
public image for the candidates.

The national team is set to appoint a consultancy firm to
arrange simple-but-essential guidance for regional campaign
teams, he added.

The same team will also assist the regional campaign teams to
raise and manage campaign funds effectively as Golkar's central
board would not completely finance each of the campaigns.

Kalla did not say how much money each candidate would have to
provide for financing campaign activities, but he estimated that
it would be equal to between Rp 1,000 and Rp 2,000 per voter. A
regency may have some 500,000 voters, while several provinces
have tens of millions of voters.

"We spent Rp 1,000 per voter for the presidential election.
It's not much, compared to that of other candidates. We spent
the money efficiently and effectively," said Kalla, a successful
businessman-turned-politician.

Golkar, which was the political vehicle of former
authoritarian president Soeharto, is determined to secure as many
top regional positions as possible because "it is the party's
right to have a role in the state apparatus in a bid to develop
the nation", Kalla said.

Recalling his own experience during the 2004 presidential
election, he explained to participants how he and President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won the election in a landslide, even
though they were only supported by minor parties, because they
focused on image-building efforts.

Kalla was the running mate of Susilo, whose small Democratic
Party supported them. But he later won the Golkar leadership post
at the party's congress in December.

He explained that his reputation could not be developed
instantly; a positive public image had to be built over time with
a well-organized campaign.

"That's the key thing about our new election system," Kalla
asserted.

He added that before the election campaign he had rarely, if
ever, wore a long-sleeved shirt with a checkered pattern, but
that all changed after consultations with image professionals.

"If you wear a short-sleeved, plain shirt in media photos and
on TV, you will be perceived as a hard worker and a sincere
person. But, if you wear a shirt with checkered-pattern, people
will consider you an easy-going person," he said.