The Democratic Party this weekend sent out invitations to public figures to take part in its convention to pick a presidential candidate.

But as the invites reach their recipients, a political analyst said the party has already chosen Pramono Edhie Wibowo, the brother-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as its presidential hopeful.

Speaking at a discussion by political think thank the Jakarta Institute on Saturday, Boni Hargens, an analyst from the University of Indonesia, said it was already obvious who the next presidential candidate will be.

He further claimed that the party convention was merely political theater to provide "false legitimacy."

"The Democratic Party would be attacked if it immediately appointed Pramono Edhie," Boni said. "So, the convention is just a false legitimation. Regarding surveys, anybody could be paid to do it," he said.

Boni said the convention was just part of the party's efforts to make it appear democratic. "By holding the convention the Democrats just want to give the impression that the party is not in fact an oligarchy," Boni said.

Convention spokesman Rully Charis said that the candidates will be briefed on the rules of selection and interviewed about their perspective on Indonesia.

"Each participant must hold a campaign for eight months and be assessed in two surveys. "The one who scores the highest has the chance to become the Democratic Party's presidential candidate," Rully said.

Indonesia's ambassador to the United States Dino Patti Djalal was the first candidate interviewed by the convention committee on Saturday. The interview was conducted behind closed doors.

State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, who has also received an invitation to join the convention, said he did not want to take part in the convention and tried to avoid it but the party had already included his name as one of the candidates.

"The Democrats' [convention] committee had officially contacted me and told me that my name had been included in the presidential candidate list. So, I could no longer avoid it even though I wanted to," Dahlan said on Sunday.

The eccentric minister said the committee initially planned to interview him on Friday but he had said his schedule was full and that the interview had been rescheduled for Wednesday. Regional Legislative Council (DPD) chairman Irman Gusman also confirmed that he had received an invitation from committee members Putu Suwaste and Didi Irawadi Syamsuddin to join the convention.

"Previously I had informal talks with the president and [Energy Minister] Jero [Wacik], but it's official now," Irman said over the weekend.

Putu said Irman has been scheduled for an interview on Tuesday. Irman said he was ready to compete with other candidates. "I'm ready, I always have been."

Former National Democratic Party (NasDem) chief advisor Endriartono Sutarto said he has formed a team to help him win in the convention.

"The team has been around for a while. It was set up to help me when I was a part of the NasDems. They continue to give me analysis and input on the steps I need to take to be selected," Endriartono said.

President Yudhoyono also invited North Sulawesi governor Sinyo Harry Sarundajang to take part in the convention and said Sinyo was one of the best governors in the country.

"It is an honor as well as a challenge to take part. It is a big responsibility to lead the country," Sinyo said. The emergence of Sinyo's name was surprising and he becomes the only representative from the eastern Indonesian region.

Other figures that were said to have been invited as participants include former Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud M. D., House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie, East Java Governor Soekarwo, businessman Chairul Tanjung, Lion Air boss Rusdi Kirana and Migrant Worker Placement and Protection Agency chairman Jumhur Hidayat.

Marzuki recently criticized the party's convention committee, saying it does not understand what the ruling party is seeking in its 2014 presidential candidate.

The lawmaker warned that he would reconsider taking part if committee members – tasked with nominating a presidential candidate – did not take their jobs seriously.

"The committee does not have a clear idea on the criteria required from participants," Marzuki was quoted as saying by Tempo.co, on Wednesday last week.

He said the general criteria ought to be that participants be Indonesian citizens and have a minimum education standard, while the specific criteria be that the participants give full support to the drive against corruption and have an understanding of the importance of diversity.

"The committee must look at their track records before inviting them to become participants," Marzuki said.