NGO's Urge Presidential Candidates to Follow Yudhoyono`s Example

Nusa Dua (Antara Bali) - Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have urged presidential aspirants in the upcoming election to follow President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s example of promoting the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative.

"OGP has a strategic value to speed up the creation of good governance in Indonesia," Mickael Hoelman of Tifa/Open Society Foundation stated during the OGP Asia Pacific Regional Conference here on Wednesday.

Therefore, Hoelman and other NGOs, such as MediaLink and International NGO forum Indonesian Development called on the presidential candidates to create good governance.

Hoelman remarked that he was chalking out a plan on the commitment to continue Indonesia`s participation in OGP and was gathering his strength to influence the countries participating in the conference.

In Hoelman`s view, there is no political contract because he will let the people give their own judgments to the presidential candidates.

He opined that it will be a setback if the next government decides to opt out of the OGP because nobody will guarantee if the wheel of the government can run transparently or not.

"The OGP member countries have a high level of compliance to implement good governance principle and openness," Hoelman asserted. (*/M038)