According to The Jakarta Post, Mahfud has announced his support for President SBY's plans to require the Democratic Party to select its candidate through a primary system. While SBY's second term expires next year, he is still the Democratic Party chairman and thus has some influence over the party's internal governance.
In the interview, Mahfud is coy about how a primary system would affect his own presidential aspirations. However, given his general popularity but lack of influence amongst party bosses, it is easy to see Mahfud performing better in a primary. In fact, this could be a way for Mahfud himself to enter the Democratic Party and sidestep party elders. Moreover, given that most of the other major parties have already proposed presidential candidates, a primary system would have the most impact in the Democratic Party.
While I've previously stated that Mahfud's chances at reaching the presidency are a longshot, my reasons for stating so were his lack of strong party organization. If he were in fact to be nominated by the Democratic Party, that would boost his chances considerably.
Critics agree that much of Southeast Asia desperately needs judicial reform and rule of law. Yet, there is remarkably little comparative scholarship on law and legal institutions in the region. In this blog, I'll follow constitutional developments in Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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