The winner of the Democratic Party’s presidential convention would be announced in May, a few weeks after the April 9 legislative election, due to changes in the convention’s itinerary, secretary of the convention’s committee, Lt. Gen. (ret) Suaidi Marasabessy, said on Wednesday.
The committee previously planned to wrap up the convention and announce the results by the end of April. But a new plan was forwarded by the committee to hold an additional one or two public debates after the election, Suaidi said.
“We are preparing for the post-election debates. The times and places, however, are still tentative,” he told The Jakarta Post.
The convention will be holding its eighth debate in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Wednesday. The previous debates were held in Bogor (West Java), Balikpapan (East Kalimantan), Denpasar (Bali), Surabaya (East Java), Bandung (West Java), Palembang (South Sumatra) and Medan (North Sumatra).
Eleven public figures are participating in the convention. They are senior Democratic Party lawmaker Hayono Isman; former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. (ret) Endriartono Sutarto; State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan; Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) official Ali Masykur Musa; former trade minister Gita Wirjawan; former Army chief Gen. (ret) Pramono Edhie Wibowo; Regional Representatives Council (DPD) Speaker Irman Gusman; North Sulawesi Governor Sinyo Harry Sarundajang; Paramadina University rector Anies Baswedan; former Indonesian ambassador to the US Dino Patti Djalal, and House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie.
The decision on the party’s eventual presidential candidate lies with three “independent” survey institutes hired by the Democratic Party, each of which has been instructed to carry out two surveys.
The first stage was underway, according to Suaidi, but the second stage would only commence after all the debates had been completed.
The postponement of the result announcement is the latest in a series of changes to the convention’s agenda. Moreover, the convention was also affected by the resignation of a key committee member, Effendi Ghazali.
The resignation sparked speculation that Effendi, a nonpartisan and well-known political communications expert, had departed due to unfair practices within the committee.
Effendi denied the rumors, however, saying that he had resigned due to health reasons.
Source/Fuente: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/05/dems-announce-convention-w...
