Anita Rachman – After re-electing its chairman earlier this month, the United Development Party on Monday decided on its new executive leadership board, promoting young members to more senior posts and reaching out to all factions of the party.

Chairman Suryadharma Ali, along with seven other senior officials in the selection committee, appointed 55 members to the executive board of the Islam-based party, also known as the PPP. Of those, about 30 percent were women.

Meanwhile, only 13 of the 55 were old faces. The rest, Suryadharma said, was dominated by young people who were mostly still in their 40s.

Lawmaker Muhammad Romahurmuziy, 36, was appointed secretary general, while the two challengers to Suryadharma in the chairmanship race, lawmakers Ahmad Yani and Ahmad Muqowam, were picked as secretary of the expert board and deputy chairman of the advisory board, respectively.

"There are people who are happy with the new format, there are some that may not be. We can't satisfy everybody," Suryadharma said, adding that the appointments had been met with some internal criticism.

Romahurmuziy told the Jakarta Globe that the PPP was eyeing young voters in the 2014 poll. "It is the young party members who can communicate better with the young people," he said.

Putting more young people in senior posts is also expected to spread political awareness among the youth. Romahurmuziy said the PPP had seen surveys that showed low interest among young people to party politics.

"We are trying to rebuild the young people's trust toward political parties," he said. "The PPP is hoping, along with the government, to educate the people politically."

He added that there was a trend among the political parties at the House to appoint younger members as secretary general, signaling an era of regeneration.

Arwani Thomafi, 36, a PPP lawmaker who was appointed one of its chairmen, said the party's younger members would decide the PPP's future. "Recruiting more young members and women means that the PPP wants to change and be more dynamic," he said.

These members, Arwani stressed, were appointed to lure critical votes. He said he believed their positions and ability to communicate with the wider community were crucial to the party's election hopes.

Under its new, all-inclusive structure, Suryadharma said, the PPP was going to be provide a safe choice for the country's Muslims. He also said that the party would come up with some "surprises" in the next election.