Golkar, PDI-P learn lessons from W. Java poll

Abdul Khalik , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 04/15/2008 11:40 AM | Headlines

The country's two largest political parties, Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said Monday they learned an important lesson from Sunday's West Java gubernatorial election.

Senior officials from the two parties said they would review the vote, which appears to have been won by Ahmad Heryawan and running mate Dede Yusuf, representing the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and National Mandate Party (PAN), as they head into other regional elections and the 2009 general and presidential polls.

Golkar deputy secretary-general Rully Chairul Azwar said voters seemed to be sending a message that they were tired of business as usual by the same old politicians.

That, he said, hurt incumbent Governor Danny Setiawan and his running mate, former West Java military commander Iwan Sulandjana, who were nominated by Golkar and the Democratic Party.

"We acknowledge that if we nominate an incumbent, he better have a record of performing well, or most people will vote for fresh, young and energetic figures. West Java residents apparently want to see change," he told The Jakarta Post.

According to separate quick counts conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), Kompas daily, the Center for Public Policy and Development Studies and the People's Voter Education Network, Jakarta councilor Ahmad and House of Representatives member Dede won some 40 percent of the vote in Sunday's gubernatorial election in the country's most densely populated province. After about 10 percent of the votes were counted Monday, Ahmad led the pack with 40.20 percent, followed by Agum with 33.94 percent.

PDI-P senior politician Sidarto Danusubroto said the apparent defeat of the party's gubernatorial candidate, Agum Gumelar, and his running mate, Nu'man Abdul Hakim, who were also supported by the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB), had shocked party leaders.

He agreed that voters had sent a message that they wanted fresh faces and ideas.

"It is an invaluable lesson for us. We will immediately gather to analyze what happened," Sidarto said.

While praising the PKS for getting voters out, Rully and Sidarto dismissed suggestions the poll in West Java was a foreshadowing of national elections in 2009.

"I tell you, it's about figures, not about parties," Rully said, referring to Dede's popularity as an actor.

Another actor, Rano Karno, was recently elected as deputy regent of Tangerang.

Political analyst Ikrar Nusa Bhakti of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences agreed that in direct elections, the candidates themselves were more important than the parties behind them.

"I believe we should not jump to conclusions that the defeat resulted from poor party machinery. We will see candidates from Golkar and PDI-P continue to dominate elections for governors, regents and mayors," Ikrar said.

Of the 22 gubernatorial elections held across the country since the introduction of direct elections, only two were won by the incumbent.

Ikrar also said it was impossible to say the vote in West Java held any kind of clue to the 2009 national elections.

"Probably the most important lesson the big parties can learn from the West Java polls is that people want new faces who are clean of scandal," he said.