JAKARTA (Yosefardi) – The Democratic Party is expected to hold its chairmanship congress in the Shangri-La Hotel in Surabaya, East Java, starting Tuesday (May. 12) to Thursday (May. 14).
The chairmanship congress will elect the new chairman of the Democratic Party, whereas former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) favored to get his second term.
SBY, however, may face challenge from other Democratic Party leaders such as Gede Pasek Suardika, Marzuki Alie, etc, as they push for regeneration of leadership within the party.
The chairmanship congress of the Democratic Party reportedly costs Rp9.45 billion.
The Democratic Party itself is now the fourth largest political party at the House of Representatives (DPR) behind PDI-P, Golkar Party, and Gerindra. The party controls 61 out of the total 560 seats at the 2014-2019 DPR or about 10.9%, far below from previous period of 2009-2014 with 148 seats (26.4%). (haryantosuharman@yosefardi.com)