Tycoon and politician Aburizal Bakrie is one of the candidates being prepped by Golkar Party to contest the presidential electionin 2014.

"We have prepared the five best figures to be the presidential candidates," Lili Asdjudireja, a senior Golkar politician, said on Tuesday.

Besides Bakrie, the other four candidates are former Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Golkar's advisory board chairman Akbar Tandjung, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono and Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad. One final candidate will be chosen through a nationwide survey.

According to Lili, each figure has the potential to be a strong presidential candidate. "Jusuf Kalla, for example, has extensive political experience while Aburizal Bakrie is experienced in business, government institutions and is a visionary," Lili said.

In June, Golkar secretary general Idrus Marham announced his resignation from the House of Representatives to help Aburizal prepare for the election.

Aburizal, he said, was the candidate with the best chance. "Ideally, the party chairman [would be the best] candidate, but we need to check this against internal surveys being carried out by the party," Idrus said at the time.

"During the past year, his [electability] has been on an upward trend, so we hope that within one to two years that trend will rise further."

Golkar had conducted two surveys in 2010 and the results each time showed Aburizal was the clear favorite among voters. (Antara, JG)