SP/Carlos Paath, Jakarta – The Democratic Party's much-hyped presidential candidate convention, underway since September, has ended, following the party's drubbing at the recent legislative elections.

"The convention is over. Participants of the convention have also returned to their own [tasks]. Everything now depends on the chairman [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono]," the chairwoman of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, Nurhayati Ali Assegaf, said on Monday.

She also suggested that if invited to nominate a presidential candidate through a coalition, the party may not necessarily select from the pool of convention participants.

Nurhayati explained that the so-called convention process was begun last year on the understanding that the Democratic Party would repeat its 2009 electoral showing and earn at least 20 percent of the popular vote. That would enable it to nominate its own presidential candidate without forming a coalition with other parties.

Initial count results, however, showed that the party had lost half its support, earning only around 9 percent, which made it impossible for convention participants to be directly nominated in the presidential race. "There's that 20 percent regulation. If it isn't fulfilled, then it can't happen," she said.

Nurhayati said, however, she remained optimistic that the party will be able to nominate a presidential candidate through a coalition, citing its previous experience during its first run at legislative election.

"In 2004, we earned only 7 percent, but by forming a coalition [with the Crescent Star Party, PBB] we could nominate a presidential candidate. Why can't we do that now? Why are people saying that the Democratic Party will not be able to nominate a presidential candidate?" she said.

Nurhayati confirmed that any nomination was up to Yudhoyono – because despite its name, the Democratic Party is not driven by party members voting on candidates, nor policy.

Nurhayati said that she felt the convention had failed to help the Democratic Party – which over the past few years has seen a startling number of its officials charged or found guilty in corruption cases – earn public votes.

"I'm not blaming anyone, but this is a fact. Many of those who participated in the convention, except for Pramono Edhie Wibowo, held visits to other regions without promoting the Democratic Party," Nurhayati said. "The convention did not contribute any votes for the Democratic Party."

In a report in news outlet Republika last week, secretary of the party's convention committee Suaedy Marasabessy admitted he was unsure where the nomination process stood. "The schedule [of the announcement] is May, but whether or not it will be postponed, we don't know yet," he said.

Frontrunner nomination hopeful Pramono, who is the brother of first lady Ani Yudhoyono, has done little to shake off complaints of nepotism and dynastic tendencies in the party. On Monday, however, he claimed he was just as much in the dark as those outside Yudhoyono's family, and emphasized that he would accept any decision made by the Democratic Party's inner circle.

"About the convention, the only people who have a say on whether or not it should be continued are the members of the convention committee. I'm just a participant, everything depends on the committee and the Democratic Party," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/democratic-party-admits-convention-now-moot/