A new party has won millions of votes in Indonesia's April 5 legislative elections, capitalizing on dissatisfaction with the existing political leadership and a deep desire for change.
The Democrat Party, established in October 2002, is currently fifth among vote-getters -- even though virtually no one knows what it stands for.
The party admits its main selling point is its co-founder Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also known as SBY, a popular former general and security minister who now tops opinion polls as a future president.
The 54-year-old retired general and a former top security minister for President Megawati Sukarnoputri is widely considered to be an intellectual and moderate soldier.
He has a master's degree from Webster University in the US and received military training overseas in the US, Belgium and Germany.
"It is true that we had almost no time to [publicize] our party and its platforms, but we just happened to be selling the right things at a time when people were in the mood for buying," Democrat chairman Budi Santoso said.
With only three weeks of electoral campaigning, it was impossible for the party to present itself properly to the people and and to explain its programs and vision, he said.
"Our supporters may not necessarily know what our programs are but we have SBY and we were proposing change in almost every sector. And we had ready buyers for just that," he said.
Yudhoyono was security minister in Megawati's coalition Cabinet until he resigned last month amid a row over his presidential aims.
The popularity of the retired general, seen as a relative moderate, rose further due to his high-profile resignation, press polls and analysts have said.
Santoso, a chain-smoking academic, claimed that the party was not taken by surprise with its electoral success.
It had forecast it would meet the 5-percent vote threshold to be able to nominate a candidate for the country's first direct presidential election on July 5, he said.
With almost 90.7 million votes tallied yesterday, the Democrats had 7.53 percent of the vote.
"The phenomenon of the Democrats is of a reactive nature and not because of deep considerations. It is a reaction based on the public's obsession for an alternative and credible leadership," said Syamsuddin Harris, a political scientist at the Institute of Science of Indonesia.
He said that there was growing dissatisfaction not only with the performance of Megawati's government but also with the available "leadership packages" of old players -- Megawati, National Assembly Chairman Amien Rais, and Parliamentary Speaker Akbar Tanjung.
Santoso called his party a "nationalist-religious" one which was open to all, regardless of ethnic origin, religious affiliation or gender. He said the party's fight was for democracy, prosperity and security.
On security, he said the military should be responsible for ensuring the safety of the nation in the face of internal or external threats.
"Separatism for example, should be handled by the military, not the police as is now the case," Santoso said.
Security and order should be for the police to maintain, he said.
The extensive role of the military in politics, business and social life was curtailed following the fall of dictator Suharto in 1998.
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