IO, Jakarta – The internal split between United Development Party (Partai Persatuan Pembangunan – “PPP”) members into two sides seems to have impacted the party’s performance in the 2019 general election. The region-based party won the fewest votes, taking in only 4.52%, and thus barely surpassing the 4% threshold needed to receive seats in parliament; this has pushed the party to unite to ensure they can make it into parliament again in 2024. This is the main issue that will be brought up during the PPP chairman elections in congress planned for February 2020.
Central Leadership Council (DPP) Chairman Saifullah Tamliha stated that the national work meeting (Mukernas) would among other things determine a schedule for when the congress is to vote on a new PPP chairman. Tamliha stated that the PPP DPP had already planned to hold the congress earlier, in the beginning of February 2020. “That is only preparing the congress’ agenda. So, that congress will be held based on a decision in the national work meeting. We hope the congress will be concluded by early February 2020,” said Tamliha.
PPP Deputy Secretary-General Achmad Baidowi stated that five PPP members had the potential to qualify for candidacy for a chairman’s position. Among them were PPP Acting Chairman and Minister of National Development Planning Suharso Monoarfa, PPP Deputy Chairman Mardiono, PPP Secretary-General Arsul Sani, PPP senior politician Akhmad Muqowan and PPP Deputy Chairman Amir Uskara.
“Will it really be those five? Well, we will see, during the congress. PPP does not lack internal members to lead the party to a comeback, to recover again, to make it through the 2024 general elections,” said Achmad, better known as Awiek, from Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta on Tuesday (19/11/2019). PPP plans on holding a national work meeting in Jakarta on December 14- 15, 2019.
Awiek did not deny the possibility of the new chairman being chosen through consultation and deliberation but if that failed, it would be determined through voting.
According to Awiek, there were certainly no two internally-opposing camps ahead of the national work meeting and congress. PPP members, according to Awiek, were aware that the last five years were confounded by internal issues, and this resulted in the Party losing a large number of votes in the 2019 general elections. “The lesson from the decline of votes PPP received is that everyone knows that if nothing were to change, PPP would sink. As a result, a collective awareness arose among all elements of the Party that together we must save it,” he concluded. (Dan)