Twenty-five of the 34 Regional Executive Boards of the Golkar Party have reportedly agreed to hold an extraordinary national meeting.
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Kompas
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Twenty-five of the 34 Regional Executive Boards (DPDs) of the Golkar Party have reportedly agreed to hold an extraordinary national meeting (Munaslub) to replace party chairman Setya Novanto. If this is true, the requirement for holding a Munaslub has been met.
In consideration of the national political agenda, a Munaslub should be held this month at the latest. The reason for this is that the registration of the party’s candidates for the 2018 regional elections will open on Jan. 8-Jan. 10, 2018. The signature of the Golkar general chairman is needed to register the party’s candidates.
"They agree for the Munaslub to be held as soon as possible. I believe that the [the general chairman’s] replacement must be in place by December," Vice President Jusuf Kalla, also a Golkar senior politician, said on Tuesday (28/11) in Jakarta.
Kalla explained that aside from setting the political agenda, which is urgently needed, a Munaslub must be held to realign the internal condition of the Golkar Party. Furthermore, besides the regional elections, 2018 will see the mid-year registration of legislative candidates and presidential candidates for the 2019 general elections.
DPD approval
According to Article 32 of the Golkar Party statute, a Munaslub can be held on the request or approval of at least two-thirds of the party’s DPDs, or 23 of the total 34 DPDs. It has been reported that 25 of 34 DPDs support the plan to hold a Munaslub.
"We are still preparing its administration. Hopefully they will be completed today [Tuesday], so that the DPDs’ proposal to hold the Munaslub can be submitted to the Golkar Party Central Executive Board (DPP)," said Dedi Mulyadi, the chairman of Golkar’s West Java DPD.
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
Golkar Party functionaries visit the Kompas newspaper in Jakarta, Tuesday (28/11). The politicians, who were met by the Kompas editorial team, spoke about the dynamics within Golkar after the arrest of party chairman Setya Novanto by the KPK.
Once it has received the DPDs’ proposal, the DPP is obliged to hold a Munaslub. Golkar Southeast Sulawesi DPD chairman Ridwan Bae called on the DPP that the board had to acknowledge the Munaslub proposal. "Don\'t ever disregard the proposal because if so, it will cause a new conflict within Golkar," he said.
Following the approval from President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla for Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto to replace Novanto as Golkar leader, an internal discourse emerged that the Munaslub should put forth a single candidate for general chairman.
”The current dynamics should not cause division. Because of the many [possible] candidates, of course there will be many choices. It could be different if we agree to a single candidate from the outset, so that solidarity can be maintained," said Golkar deputy secretary-general Ace Hasan Syadzily.
Wide acclamation was expressed for senior Golkar politicians such as Ginandjar Kartasasmita and Agung Laksono. According to Ginandjar, a complete internal overhaul was needed for Golkar. A single candidate could reduce fierce vote trading during the general chairman election.
Golkar Expert Council chairman Agung Laksono shared Ginandjar\'s view, saying that electing the general chairman at the Munaslub should be held by consensual deliberation, so the party could recover from its lengthy conflict and repair its image.
With regard to the possibility of a single candidate, Airlangga said this was up to the vote holders. However, he admitted that various factions within Golkar had voiced varying interests and intensions ahead of the Munaslub. "A compromise can be reached in these interests," he said.
