Non-partisan figures have big election chance: Siswono

Non-partisan figures have big election chance: Siswono

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Non-partisan figures contesting in next year's presidential
election stand a bigger chance of winning because the majority of
voters have no connection with political parties, a former
minister says.

Siswono Yudohusodo, a former minister for transmigration, told
a discussion here on Friday that only 20 percent of some 145
million voters in next year's elections are members of political
parties.

"The remaining 80 percent are not members of any political
party. This means non-partisan candidates will have a big chance
to win the presidency," said Siswono, who is also chairman of the
Indonesian Farmers Association (HKTI).

Siswono is one of several non-party figures vying for the
presidential post, having been nominated by at least seven small
parties, including the Love the Nation Peace Crusade Party (PDKB)
and the Islamic Sharia Party (PSI).

Along with Siswono, noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid and
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono are tipped to run in next year's election, when
the country holds its first ever direct presidential election.

Independent candidates are not allowed to run in the elections
but may be nominated by a political party or a coalition of
political parties.

The two-phase presidential elections are expected to take
place in July and September respectively.

Siswono said non-party candidates would have the chance to
lure the support from all quarters in society, including
political parties.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Watik Pratiknya from The Habibie Center (THC)
said "the nation's best son" was not always a member of a
political party, therefore independent figures must be given an
equal chance to contest the presidential elections.

He was referring to the practice in the United States where
non-party figures may nominate themselves by producing support
from a number of people.

He added that the most important thing was to show the public
that non-partisan figures also have the competence to lead the
nation.

Siswono stressed that requirements to become president are
different from those required to become chairperson of a
political party.

Legislator Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, who deliberated the
presidential election law, said the law provided the chance for
non-party figures to contest the elections if they were nominated
by a political party or coalition of parties.

Ferry of Golkar refuted the widely held perception that only a
member of a political party could be nominated as a presidential
candidate, saying that each political party was given a chance to
nominate their candidate.

Two parties have openly nominated their chairpersons to be
their presidential candidates -- the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) with its chairwoman Megawati
Soekarnoputri, and the National Mandate Party (PAN) with it
chairman Amien Rais.

Golkar is still in the process of selecting its presidential
candidate.