Over the last week, Covid-19 cases have again spiked at the global level. Countries are called upon to exercise alertness.
By
KOMPAS EDITOR
·3 minutes read
Over the last week, Covid-19 cases have again spiked at the global level. Countries are called upon to exercise alertness. Instead of getting geared up, the dynamism of politics in the country is even becoming turbulent.
The national political temperature rose after the split within the Democratic Party. The conflict surfaced in the public sphere and turned into an open war following the circulation of the term “coup d’etat”. The conflict grew more intense and ended up with an extraordinary congress in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, on 5 March 2021. The Democratic Party has thus been divided. One side is led by Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) and the other is headed by Moeldoko.
The row prevailing in the Democratic Party has created a furor not only in the real world but also in the cyber realm. “KLB Partai Demokrat” (Democratic Party extraordinary congress) has been one of the most searched phrases on Google, and this trend is increasing, even almost trailing the word “Covid-19”.
The phrase “coup d’etat” has a negative connotation. Christopher D. Moore from Bethel University in his article titled “Political Coup” defines it as a form of abnormal illegal or extralegal transfer of power in which popular will is inconsequential. However, unlike a revolution, a coup does not necessarily rely on violence.
The split in the Democratic Party is even more widely discussed, which is certainly inseparable from the presence of Democratic Party Supreme Assembly chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also the sixth President of Indonesia and the father of AHY. Moeldoko is currently chief of the presidential staff, the inner circle of the government of Joko Widodo. Various political analyses and speculations are emerging. There is no smoke without fire.
Apart from the fire as its source, of course we hope the conflict plaguing the Democratic Party will soon be settled. Law No. 2/2011 on the amendment to Law No. 2/2008 on political parties, in Article 32 stipulates that any political party dispute shall first be settled internally, whether by a party tribunal or any other name. The structure of the tribunal shall be submitted by the political party leadership to the ministry and the case be settled within 60 days.
This means that it will expend energy for at least five months.
Additionally, Article 33 specifies that if a dispute settlement is not achieved, it shall be done through the district court. The decision of the court is that of the first and last instance and a cassation appeal shall only be filed with the Supreme Court. Settlement in the district court takes a maximum of 60 days from the case registration with the court secretariat, while in the Supreme Court it takes a maximum of 30 days from the cassation registration. This means that it will expend energy for at least five months.
Party division that ends in dualism of leadership has often happened. It can be triggered by dissatisfaction with election results or calculations for upcoming elections. The difference is that at present, the nation is facing a major problem, the Covid-19 pandemic that demands the totality of energy of all elements. Here, members of the political party elite should curb their desire and ego for power to give priority to overcoming people’s sufferings.