PPP Likely to Pick Incumbent Risma for Surabaya Mayoral Election

Reported by Fiqih Arfani Surabaya, E Java (Antara) - The United Development Party (PPP) is likely to select incumbent Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini for the December 2015 election for a second term. \"Madame Risma has a great chance. There has been no stronger candidate than the incumbent,\" chief of the party\'s provincial executive board in East Java Musyaffa\' Noer said here on Friday. However, it is completely up to the party\'s branch in the city to select its candidate according to the party\'s rules, he added. The party\'s city branch should propose its candidate to the provincial branch, which will further report the candidate to the central executive board, he explained. The central executive board will then issue a recommendation, which is one of the procedures for registering a candidate with the local general elections commission, he remarked. According to Noer, the party is unlikely to pick its own cadre to run for Surabaya mayor as it only holds one seat in the city\'s legislative council. \"However, we have many supporters there. The PPP had gained 67 thousand votes (in the 2014 elections). It was because of the system that we secured only one seat,\" he observed. The PPP had earlier planned to nominate chief of the party\'s chapter in Surabaya H. Buchori for the post of Surabaya mayor. However, the party later felt he will be unable to compete with Rismaharini and dropped the plan. (*)