The Democratic Party ( id, Partai Demokrat) is a
centre to
centre-right
Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and m ...
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. It was founded on 9 September 2001. Its ideology is based on the Indonesian concept of
Pancasila, and identifies as centrist.
Origins
The 2001 Special Session of the
People's Consultative Assembly
The People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, MPR-RI) is the legislative branch in Indonesia's political system. It is composed of the members of the People's Re ...
which resulted in
Megawati Sukarnoputri
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. She previously served as the eighth vice president from 1999 to 2001.
Megawati i ...
's election as President of Indonesia caused a vacancy in the position of vice-president.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to by his initials SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party ...
was one candidate who competed for the vice-presidency, losing out to
Hamzah Haz
Hamzah Haz (born 15 February 1940) is an Indonesian politician who served as vice president of Indonesia from 2001 until 2004, under President Megawati Sukarnoputri. He previously held the positions of Minister of Investment and Coordinating ...
.
Yudhoyono's supporters saw Yudhoyono's participation in the vice-presidential election as a sign of his popularity and recognized Yudhoyono's potential as a possible leader for Indonesia. One of these supporters, Vence Rumangkang approached Yudhoyono with the idea of forming a political party to help shore up support for the 2004 presidential elections. Yudhoyono approved of the idea and after going through the basic concepts left Rumangkang in charge of forming the party.
From 12–19 August 2001, Rumangkang began holding a series meetings to discuss the formation of the party while holding consultations with Yudhoyono who was now serving as the Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security. Yudhoyono personally led the meeting on 19 August and on 20 August 2001, the basic outline of the party was finalized.
On 9 September 2001 (Yudhoyono's 52nd birthday), the formation of the Democratic Party was officially declared and on 10 September 2001, it was registered at the
Ministry of Law and Human Rights. The party also elected Subur Budhisantoso as Party Chairman.
History
2004 legislative election
The party won 7.5% share of votes and won 57 out of 560 seats in the
People's Representative Council
The People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, DPR-RI), also known as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), ...
in the
2004 legislative election and finished in fifth place overall.
2004 presidential election
The party nominated Yudhoyono as its presidential candidate with
Jusuf Kalla
Muhammad Jusuf Kalla (; born 15 May 1942) is an Indonesian politician and businessman who served as the 10th and 12th vice president of Indonesia, the only vice president in Indonesian history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office (2004� ...
as the vice-presidential candidate. In this, they were also supported by the
Crescent Star Party (PBB) and
Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI). Yudhoyono and Kalla won the first round of elections in July 2004 with 33.6% of the votes and would go on to win 60.1% in the run-offs, thereby securing Yudhoyono's election as President.
2005 party congress
In May 2005, the party held its first party congress, during which Hadi Utomo was elected as chairman. Nevertheless, the highest authority in the Party remained with Yudhoyono who was elected was chairman of the Advisory Board (''Dewan Pembina'').
2009 legislative election
The party came first in the
2009 legislative election with 20.9 percent of the votes, making it the largest party in the
People's Representative Council
The People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, DPR-RI), also known as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), ...
, with 148 seats, just over one quarter of the total.
2009 presidential election
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra a ...
Incumbent Yudhoyono won the election, with former Governor of
Bank Indonesia,
Boediono
Boediono (EYD: Budiono, pronounced ; born 25 February 1943) is an Indonesian economist and statesman. He was the 11th vice president of Indonesia, in office from 2009 to 2014. He became vice president after winning the 2009 presidential electio ...
, as vice-presidential candidate, with a total tally of 60.8% in first round of
runoff system election, beating former president,
Megawati Sukarnoputri
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. She previously served as the eighth vice president from 1999 to 2001.
Megawati i ...
, and incumbent vice-president,
Jusuf Kalla
Muhammad Jusuf Kalla (; born 15 May 1942) is an Indonesian politician and businessman who served as the 10th and 12th vice president of Indonesia, the only vice president in Indonesian history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office (2004� ...
2013 extraordinary congress
After the resignation of
Anas Urbaningrum, the party held an extraordinary congress on 30 March 2013 in
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
to fill the chairmanship.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to by his initials SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party ...
ran unopposed and was unanimously elected after no other party members decided to run.
2014 legislative election
For the
2014 legislative election, the party set a target of 15% of the national vote, less than its 2009 share. One reason the party expected its vote to fall was that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would not able to run for president, having served the two terms allowed for in the constitution.
[ However, the party won only 10.19%, losing over half of its seats in the legislature.
]
2019 legislative election
For the 2019 legislative election, the party initially set a target of 15%, but later changed the target to 10% of the national vote. The party managed to gain 7.77% of the vote, losing some seats in the legislature.
2020 party congress
On 15 March 2020, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, after serving as the Commanding the Joint Task Command (Kogasma) during the 2019 General Election, is elected to be the new General Chairman of the Party, replacing his father as the Chairman.
2021 internal conflict
On 5 March 2021, an extraordinary congress that is held by some of the Democratic Party members decided to elect Moeldoko as the new General Chairman of the party, contrary to the results of 2020 Democratic Party Congress that elected Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono as the General Chairman until 2025.
The election of the extraordinary congress is heavily opposed by former General Chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to by his initials SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party ...
, stating that the extraordinary congress is unlawful as they have to be held by the request of the upper house of the party, and none of the upper house members of the party have requested any extraordinary congress. SBY also stated that extraordinary congress have to be requested by at least 2/3 of the party's regional representative council, and none of the regional representative council have requested the extraordinary congress.
Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono claimed that the election of Moeldoko is illegal, and he is the legitimate leader of the party.
On 31 March 2021 the government decided that the result of the extraordinary congress is illegitimate, confirming that Agus Yudhoyono is the legitimate chairman of the Democratic Party.
Chairpersons
*Subur Budhisantoso
Subur Budhisantoso (born August 27, 1937 Garut, Indonesia) is an Indonesian politician and professor. He was one of the first leaders of the Democratic Party of Indonesia from 2001 to 2005.
Scientific work
Several scientific papers he has pu ...
(2001 – 2005)
*Hadi Utomo
Hadi Utomo (August 15, 1945 in Semarang – January 15, 2017 in Denpasar) was the second chairman of the Democratic Party (Indonesia) from 2005 to 2010. He was a retired colonel. Hadi Utomo was the brother-in-law of Indonesia's 6th president Susilo ...
(2005 – 23 May 2010)
* Anas Urbaningrum (23 May 2010 – 23 February 2013)
*Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to by his initials SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party ...
(30 March 2013 - 15 March 2020)
* Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (15 March 2020 – Present), disputed, elected by 2020 Democratic Party congress.
Corruption cases
Muhammad Nazaruddin was dismissed by the Democratic Party's ethics council from his position as party treasurer in May 2011 due to his involvement in a corruption case, but he remained a legislator in the House of Representatives. Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD said Nazaruddin had given S$120,000 ($96,900) to Constitutional Court secretary general Janedri M. Gaffar in 2010. The money was later returned to Nazaruddin. On 24 May 2011, Mahfud reported Nazaruddin to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for allegedly trying to bribe a court official.
On 20 April 2012, Nazaruddin was convicted of corruption and sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison and fined approximately US$22,000. He was found guilty of accepting over 4.68 billion rupiah in return for helping rig the tenders for an athletes' village built for the Southeast Asian Games in South Sumatra in November 2011.
Nazaruddin was arrested by Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...
in Cartagena, Colombia in August 2011, having fled Indonesia after being named a suspect in the case.
The Nazaruddin scandal was followed by the naming of a number of high-ranking party officials and legislators as suspects in numerous graft cases. Most prominent among them was Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, who resigned in December 2012 Mallarangeng was named suspect in the same athlete training camp case which had involved Nazaruddin. Business tycoon Siti Hartati Murdaya Siti Hartati Tjakra Murdaya (Chow Li Ing), born 29 August 1946, is a prominent Indonesian businesswoman, Buddhist leader and convicted corruption felon. She co-founded the Cipta Cakra Murdaya (CCM) group of companies, which is involved in real estat ...
, who had served on the party's Advisory Board, resigned in August 2012 after becoming embroiled in a corruption case for which she was later jailed.
Election results
Legislative election results
Presidential election results
''Note: Bold text indicates the party member''
References
{{Indonesian political parties
2001 establishments in Indonesia
Centrist parties in Asia
Pancasila political parties
Political parties established in 2001
Political parties in Indonesia