The contestation for the Golkar Party chairmanship in the national conference, which will begin on Tuesday (3/12/2019) in Jakarta, is predicted to be fierce.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The contestation for the Golkar Party chairmanship in the national conference, which will begin on Tuesday (3/12/2019) in Jakarta, is predicted to be fierce. The dynamics will be influenced by the mechanism for electing the chairperson, which will be determined by the participants of the conference.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is scheduled to open the Golkar Party National Conference, which will be held until Dec. 6. Yesterday, at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, the President emphasized that the Golkar Party National Conference was a part of the party\'s internal affairs. Golkar is considered capable of electing its leader democratically.
As of Monday (2/12/2019), nine people had registered as candidates for the chairmanship. They are Ali Yahya, Ridwan Hisjam, Indra Bambang Utoyo, Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa, Bambang Soesatyo, Achmad Annama, Derek Loupatty, Airlangga Hartarto and Aris Mandji.
In the next stage, namely the nomination, the general chairman candidates must show that they have support from 30 percent of Golkar members. However, the nomination and election mechanism of the general chairmanship will be determined by participants in the national conference, consisting of 560 voting right holders. The majority of the candidates asked that the support be given in a closed session in the voting booths.
Chairman of the Golkar Party National Conference Steering Committee Ibnu Munzir said the dynamics of the general chairman election during the conference will depend on the electoral mechanism. General chairman candidates need to negotiate and agree in advance to the election mechanism.
There are no written conventions on elections at national conferences. However, Ibnu said, it depends on the dynamics when discussing the electoral procedures. "Later, it will be discussed at the plenary meeting at the national conference. There let them debate it," he said.
Claiming each other
The Airlangga camp claims to be supported by 514 provincial and regency/city regional representatives council (DPD) offices. The support was delivered in writing through a stamped letterhead letter signed by the DPD chairman and secretary. This support was obtained through Airlangga\'s political safari and his team of supporters in several regions over the last few weeks. Yesterday, the Airlangga camp continued its consolidation with DPDs throughout Indonesia in Gading Serpong, Tangerang.
Several senior party figures were present, such as chairman of the Advisory Council Akbar Tandjung, chairman of the Expert Council Agung Laksono, chairman of the Board of Trustees Aburizal Bakrie and Luhut Pandjaitan, who serves as the coordinating maritime affairs and investment minister.
Airlangga seemed to be confident with the support of the majority that he pocketed. However, according to him, the selection mechanism will be handed over to the national conference committee.
He was reluctant to comment on views if the current conditions that benefit him as the incumbent. "Politics does not talk about profit and loss, but benefits for the society," he said.
Airlangga\'s strong challenger, Bambang Soesatyo, quipped about improving party governance to be consistent with the statutes and organizational regulations. Until yesterday, Bambang\'s team claimed to have the support of more than 400 provincial and regency/city DPD offices.
Related to the general chairman election mechanism, Bambang entrusted it to the voters in Golkar. "I believe more in destiny. Whatever others do, if fate says otherwise, no one can block it," he said.
This is crucial because Golkar\'s challenges in the future are not easy.
A researcher for the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Arya Fernandes, said the elected chairperson must be able to consolidate party members at the central and regional level to improve residues after competition in the national conference. This is crucial because Golkar\'s challenges in the future are not easy.
After the reforms, the percentage of votes gained by Golkar in the election continued to fall. In the 1999 election, Golkar gathered 22.44 percent of the votes. That number fell in the 2004 election to 21.62 percent. In the 2009 election it further fell to 14.45 percent, and then 12.31 percent in the 2019 election. "This is a difficult challenge for anyone who later leads Golkar," said Arya. (AGE/DVD/INA)