Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Thursday that he was not grooming anybody for a presidential run in the 2014 general elections. That includes First Lady Ani Yu-dhoyono and his sons Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro Yudhoyono, Yudhoyono said.

"I won't be a presidential candidate in 2014. Neither will my wife nor my sons," President Yudhoyono said in a presidential lecture at the Indonesian Youth Leader Forum 2011 in Jakarta.

"I'm not grooming anybody to become the presidential candidate in the 2014 elections. Let democracy and the public speak for themselves in 2014," he said to thunderous applause from the audience, consisting mostly of young entrepreneurs from throughout Indonesia.

The President's statement came amid speculation about the possibility of a presidential run by either the First Lady or Ibas, who currently serves as the secretary-general of the Democratic Party where Yudhoyono serves as chief patron.

The speculation was sparked by the absence of a strong candidate from the Democratic Party. Out of the three political parties with the most votes in the 2009 general elections, only the Democratic Party is still struggling to find a candidate for the 2014 elections.

The other two parties, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party, already have viable, well-known candidates even though no one has announced their official candidacy yet.

Former president and PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, along with her daughter Puan Maharani who is currently serving as a legislator, are viewed by many as viable PDI-P presidential candidates, while business tycoon and Golkar chair Aburizal Bakrie has emerged as a possible candidate from Golkar.

But, the Democratic Party is seemingly still having trouble finding candidates for the party to back.

There have been rumors that the Army's Strategic Reserves Command chief, Lt. Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, who is also Yudhoyono's brother-in-law, would be prepared by the Democratic Party as its presidential candidate in the 2014 election.

Pramono's name was widely circulated recently as a potential candidate to replace Gen. George Toisutta as the Army Chief of Staff when George retires on July 1.

"The Democratic Party's principle is that we won't pick our presidential candidates based only on their connection to Yudhoyono," Democratic Party executive Kastorius Sinaga told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Kastorius said the party was open to the idea of nominating Pramono for president. "However, we will stand by our chief principle to pick the best of the best as our presidential candidate," he said.

Regarding the Democratic Party's apparent lack of candidates, Kastorius said, "We are not worried at all. All of our political programs are actually on schedule. Besides, there are also risks if a presidential nominee comes out too soon. There's the chance that he would prematurely wither."

A recent nationwide survey by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) found that the Democratic Party's approval rating decreased from 21 percent during the 2009 general elections to 19 percent as of May 25, 2011. (mim)