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Democrat Party - PD

The Democrat Party (PD) was founded by then-Coordinating Minister of Politics and Security Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2001 to be his political vehicle. He broke with the usual pattern in Indonesia, however, and did not become the party’s chairman. The bulk of the party’s initial cadres were mostly mid-level ex-Golkar and former military leaders. Although the party’s local branch structure remained weak at the time of the April 2004 legislative elections, the PD still managed to capture 7.5 percent of the vote (57 DPR seats), and thus become one of the seven largest parties, largely on the strength of Yudhoyono’s personal popularity.

Partai Demokrat had positive beginnings. The secular-leaning party, which was established in 2001 by then candidate, later President Yudhoyono, made a splash in the 2004 legislative elections, netting roughly 7.5% of the vote. That total--very high for a brand new party--coupled with Yudhoyono's subsequent election as president, made the party a force in Jakarta.

President Yudhoyono's Partai Demokrat ("Democrat Party" or "PD") struggled to make a mark. The party faced internal rifts, had not done well in 2008 gubernatorial contests, and was not doing particularly well in the polls. Observers said the party had not developed a clear political identity of its own and has no real platform (short of Yudhoyono's).

The major division in the party involved those who were considered very close to the President and those who want to set a slightly independent course. The camp closest to Yudhoyono controlled the party and was led by party chair, Hadi Utomo (a brother-in-law of the president). The opposing camp says the party was too close to the president, with too many links to his family members. This camp was also aggrieved because it said that party members close to the president had been given the best positions on the ballot for the legislative elections. By 2008, the tensions in the party had already led small groups to split off and form new parties (none of which are well-known).

The party had also not done particularly well in 2008 gubernatorial races. In these races, Partai Demokrat basically supported candidates in coalition with other parties. In general, candidates that it has supported have fared poorly, often fnishing third or fourth. It has been involved in coalitions that have won, including in Jakarta and in South Sumatra, but none of Indonesia's 33-odd governors is actually a member of the party.

Most 2008 polls showed its support hovering around 7-8%, sometimes more and sometimes less. That result often put it well behind the Golkar party, the Indonesian Party of Democratic Struggle (PDI-P) and the Islamic-oriented Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). How the party fared in the April 2009 legislative elections was vitally important to Yudhoyono given that potential candidates would need the support of roughly 15-25% of the legislature in order to be nominated for president.

Between 2004 and 2009, the success of the party and Yudhoyono’s presidential bid attracted new cadres, who expanded the party’s structure into a truly national presence. This expansion, combined with Yudhoyono’s continuing popularity, gave the PD the most votes in the April 2009 legislative elections, with 20.9 percent of the vote (148 of 560 DPR seats). The party’s prospects in 2014 and beyond remained unclear, however, with Yudhoyono no longer eligible to run for reelection at that time.

Partai Demokrat's main problem was that it had not developed a clear identity. The party was correctly seen as doing the bidding of Yudhoyono and will rise and fall depending on his political fate. In terms of its platform, there is not much difference between what the party stands for and, say, the Golkar party, which also is secular-oriented and basically pro-free market in philosophy. Golkar, however, was much better known and much larger. In fact, many observers wondered whether Partai Demokrat will continue to exist on the political scene once Yudhoyono departs, with sections perhaps being subsumed into Golkar or other parties.

By 2017 the Democratic High Council was still led by Democratic Party Chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in charge of deciding and approving Democratic Party candidates for governors and deputy governors of the upcoming election.