We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 July 2017
INTRODUCTION
With Indonesian elections about six months away, speculation is mounting about who will be running to become the next directly-elected president. Which sosok (figure) will be chosen to represent the respective parties will be a crucial matter and will strongly influence how the presidential campaign is managed. Parties need therefore to choose their potential candidate very strategically.
Be that as it may, many parties are unable to escape the grip of traditional party authority or dynastic politics. These are either forced to nominate “old faces” or run the risk of not fielding a credible internal candidate. The nomination of veterans such as Aburizal Bakrie (Partai Golkar/Golkar Party), Wiranto (Partai Hati Nurani Rakyat/People's Conscience Party), Prabowo Subianto (Partai Gerakan Indonesia Raya/Great Indonesia Movement Party), and the lack of suitable candidates in Partai Demokrat (PD, Democratic Party) are evidence of this succession problem. Partai Demokrasi Indonesia–Perjuangan (PDI-P, Indonesian Democratic Party Struggle), on the other hand, has developed an alternative system of candidate selection through nurturing local candidates for national leadership.
By all accounts, the battle among the parties to present the most credible presidential candidate will be uncompromising. This essay analyses the strategies of two major parties in their bid to win the popular vote.
PD'S NATIONAL CONVENTION:THE SEARCH FOR SUCCESSOR
PD is by most accounts a success story. It was built as a political vehicle as late as in 2001 to carry Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his bid for presidency in the 2004 elections. The party has since then been riding on his success. After a rushed set-up, Yudhoyono's meteoric rise in popularity propelled PD to become the fourth largest political party in 2004 with 7.04 per cent of the votes, behind Partai Golkar (Golkar Party), PDI-P, and Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP, United Development Party). The party's strength grew further in the 2009 elections. It secured more than 20 per cent of the votes and tripled its number of seats in the legislature from 55 seats in 2004 to 148 seats.
Arguably, Yudhoyono's popularity single-handedly carried his party in the last two elections. However, relying too much on one sosok has its consequences.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
