PPP Congress Fails to Declare Presidential Candidate

Bandung, W Java (Antara) - The United Development Party (PPP) has failed to declare its presidential candidate in its current Second National Working Meeting (Mukernas II), Secretary of PPP's Experts Assembly Ahmad Yani said. "There is no declaration of presidential candidate," Ahmad Yani said on the sidelines of PPP's second national congress at the wee hours here on Sunday. He said that the decision to announce PPP's presidential candidate would be taken at the PPP National Leadership Meeting forum after the 2014 legislative elections in April. "PPP can be ashamed if it has named a presidential candidate but the votes it wins in the legislative elections turns out to be not enough (fail to reach the presidential threshold)," he added. He denied however that the PPP congress failed to declare its presidential candidate due to pressures from its 26 Regional Branches (DPW) who rejected the idea to declare a presidential candidate before the April 9 legislative elections. Twenty-six Regional Branches (DPW) of the United Development Party (PPP) have said the time was not yet right to name a Presidential candidate. This comes during the current PPP's Second National Working Meeting (Munas II PPP), being held in Bandung, West Java. "We have agreed not to declare PPP presidential candidates in the current congress," DPW PPP Chairman for South Sulawesi Amir Uskara said here on Saturday. Amir stated that PPP must first focus on winning the legislative elections next April and must first learn the percentage of seats it will hold in the House of Representatives (DPR) before it declares a presidential candidate. He said that if PPP declared its presidential candidates before the legislative elections and failed to meet the presidential threshold, it would have to review its declaration since it must then merge with other political parties to discuss a common presidential candidate. "If PPP failed to meet the presidential threshold it must coalesce and there must be bargaining with regard to the candidate. This means that the declaration will mean nothing," he said. It was reported earlier this month that PPP had planned to announce its presidential candidate at the end of its national working congress to be held between February 7 and 8, 2014. PPP Chairman Suryadharma Ali said that the party's presidential candidate will be announced on February 9, 2014, after the national working congress concludes. The meeting will be convened to mainly discuss the party's presidential candidate and preparations for the upcoming 2014 general elections on April 9. (*)