Jakarta – A rival faction within the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) called on the leadership of the party to withdraw its decision to nominate party chairman Gen. (ret) Wiranto and media tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibyo as presidential and vice presidential candidates respectively for the upcoming 2014 election.

"We strongly object the declaration [...] this is a strategic decision and to nominate a candidate we must at least secure 20 percent of the vote, so we need to build a coalition with other parties," said a founding member of Hanura, Fuad Bawazier, on Sunday.

Fuad added that the decision to nominate Wiranto and Hary had flouted the party's statute. "All strategic decisions must be made in a national leadership meeting but no such meeting took place," Fuad said.

Fuad explained he was notified of the declaration through a text message shortly before the event took place.

On Tuesday, Hanura officially recognized its Wiranto-Hary ticket for the 2014 election. Hanura is the first political party to declare its ticket for the 2014 elections.

Wiranto said during the declaration ceremony that he and Hary were a good combination that would help each other as leaders. Wiranto said his candidacy with Hary best represented pluralism, since he was Muslim and Javanese while Hary was ethnic Chinese and Christian.

In the 2009 general elections, Hanura only acquired 3.8 percent of the vote, gaining only 18 seats at the House of Representatives, while the current Presidential Election Law requires 20 percent of the vote for a party in the legislative election or 25 percent of seats at the House to be able to name its own presidential candidate.

Wiranto's supporters within the party said they were optimistic that the party could fulfil the 20 percent threshold. Hanura's secretary-general Saleh Husin said the party could go it alone in the 2014 presidential election.

"We are aiming to get 20 percent of the vote in the House so that we can propose our nomination for presidential and vice presidential candidates," Saleh told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Saleh also said the decision to nominate Wiranto and Hary had been legitimate as it was made with the presence of all chairmen of the party's regional branches. "At that time, all members of the executive boards also agreed to Hary's nomination and gave a standing ovation soon after the announcement," he said.

Saleh said the nomination of Hary could be a breakthrough for the party as he would represent the Chinese ethnic minority in the country.

He also said that Hary, with his business background, could complement Wiranto's experience in the military. "Hary is a successful businessman and media baron, which will of course benefit the party," he said.

Saleh added that the decision had been final and could not be reversed. "This decision to nominate Hary as Wiranto's running mate has been final and we will tell other party members at the next party's meeting," he said.

Hary joined Hanura in January following his exit from the NasDem Party. He left the party following his spat with Nasdem founder and fellow media baron Surya Paloh. The NasDem leadership has said it does not consider Hary's membership of Hanura a threat.