PDIP to Select Presidential Candidate after Parliamentary Elections

Jakarta (Antara) - Indonesia Democratic Party Struggle (PDIP) general chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri has stated that the party will decide on its presidential candidate after the parliamentary elections are held in April next year. "The objective of this meeting is not to select a presidential candidate but to discuss ways to win the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2014," she said after opening the PDIP's 3rd national working meeting here on Friday, attended by some 1,330 party people, including PDIP's central, regional and local executive board members, senior members, and regional administration heads. Megawati noted that the presidential candidate need not always be selected at national working meetings, but must be chosen at the right time, which is ideally after the parliamentary elections. In order to field a presidential candidate, a political party must win at least 25 percent of the total votes in the parliamentary elections, or 20 percent of seats in the House of Representatives. "Therefore, during this meeting, PDI Perjuangan will bring together the cadres and prepare strategies to win the parliamentary and presidential elections," Megawati said. The meeting will also discuss ways to implement a transition of leadership in light of public opinion and other national and international challenges, she continued. Only after seeing how many votes PDIP won in the parliamentary elections, Megawati explained, would the party know whether it could be in a position to generate its own ticket or it would need to form a coalition with other political parties. She said she was aware that there were calls from within and outside the party to immediately decide on a candidate for next year's presidential election. (*)