The Democrat Party, Indonesia's ruling party that ushered Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seized two-term presidency periods in Southeast Asia's largest economy is facing crucial moment at present related to its dimming popularity following the probe of high-profile corruption scandals implicating its chairman Anas Urbaningrum months before the conduction of elections. Indonesia's anti-graft agency, the Commission Eradication Commission (KPK), has declared Anas a suspect in several corruption cases while served as a legislator in the parliament. He was suspected of receiving commission fees, bribes and promises from contractors awarded projects to build national sport facility compound in Hambalang, West Java province that worth 1.2 trillion rupiah (about 123.7 million US dollars).
Anas had resigned from the party's chairmanship on Saturday, shortly after the anti-graft agency declared him a suspect in the case. The agency had also asked the immigration office to slap travel ban against Anas than him prohibited from taking overseas trip in the next six months.
Prior to the suspect imposition against Anas, the party's chief patron, President Yudhoyono, had takeover Anas' chairmanship authorities and promised him that the party would provide legal counselors for him regarding the legal case charged against Anas.
President Yudhoyono also ordered the party's officials across the country to sign integrity pact in order prevent splinter group inside the party, assuring party's solid integration prior to the conduction of elections in 2014.
Anas' involvement in high profile corruption cases was indicated from confessions of other senior Democrat Party's cadres now serving jail terms after they were proved of committing corruptions in several state projects. They said that Anas received ill-gotten money and endowment from contractors awarded those projects.
Responding on such an ordeal that potentially risk the party in the upcoming elections, Democrat party will take immediate action by convening an extraordinary congress to elect new party's chairman. Max Sopacua, a senior Democrat Party cadre said that the congress would be an extraordinary one as it was justified by the party's administration. He hinted that it will be conducted in the near future, or could be convened sometimes before April this year.
"We still have a month to go. We need to monitor condition inside the party first," Max said in an interview with a local TV station on Wednesday.
The new party's chairman needs to be elected soon so as to save the party's integrity and prepare all necessities to make the party fit to run in 2014 elections whose process will commence within less than a year.
Rumor circulated in the media has it that President Yudhoyono' s son Eddie Bhaskoro would be the strongest candidate to assume the chairmanship of the ruling party. Eddie has resigned as a legislator in the parliament recently, saying that he had more important jobs to save his party. Eddie is the party's secretary general at the moment.
Democrat party seized 150 seats, or 26.4 percent of a total 560 seats in the parliament in 2009 election, managed to retain President Yudhoyono's presidency that made him the only president in the country re-elected in democratically conducted election until two-term maximum periods.