Towards Party Congress, Aburizal Blockades Contenders

12/12/2018

Contenders of incumbent Aburizal Bakrie in the upcoming Golkar Party chairmanship election have complained about alleged “foul play” by Aburizal’s camp that they have said is aimed at preventing their campaigns.

Several Golkar members who had announced their intention to run for party chairperson met on Wednesday with members of the party’s advisory council at the party’s headquarters in West Jakarta to convey their complaints.

“I have continued to receive reports from regional branches saying that they were not allowed to receive any chairperson candidates but Aburizal. They were intimidated and threatened about their future in Golkar,” former House of Representatives speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, one of the potential chairman candidates, said before the meeting.

Other candidates present at the meeting included lawmakers Airlangga Hartarto, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita and Zainudin Amali, as well as senior party executive Hajriyanto Y. Thohari.

According to Priyo, reports over such illicit practices came from dozens of Golkar provincial, regional and municipal branches in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Maluku.

Golkar’s statute stipulates that in order to be elected chairman, a candidate must garner support from a majority of 547 available votes — which represent the party’s central board and its branches, chapters and affiliated organizations — at a Golkar national congress.

Priyo suggested that the moves had been orchestrated by some current party executives who wanted Aburizal to continue his leadership of the party.

Airlangga echoed Priyo’s statement.

“The atmosphere from regional branches is increasingly strong that they are conditioned to support only one particular candidate. I feel that they are afraid to vote for candidates other than [Aburizal],” he said.

Airlangga added that, in the meeting with the advisory council, he would also convey his investigation over scenarios launched by “culprits” to expedite a party congress.

Speculation is rife that the scenario is aimed at ensuring that Aburizal would win his second chairmanship term given the intensifying efforts by his potential contenders to lobby party branches in regions.

“We have to stick to the decision made at our last congress in Pekanbaru, [Riau] to have our next congress next year,” Airlangga said.

From Nov. 17 to 19, Golkar is scheduled to hold its national leadership meeting (Rapimnas), during which the party is expected to announce the details of its next national congress.

Unlike Priyo, Airlangga said he would accept if Aburizal wanted to run again. “But the mechanism must be legal and avoid any illicit attempts to block the nomination of other potential candidates,” he said.

Advisory council chairman Akbar Tandjung said he would study the complaints conveyed by Priyo and Airlangga. “But the next national congress must be held next year for sure, because it was a legal decision made at our last congress,” he said.

Akbar also agreed that any efforts to block the nomination of other candidates could not be accepted.

Priyo also said that he had detected moves by certain Golkar members to push for a revision of the conditions required for a candidate’s nomination.

“Our statute clearly states that a candidate can be nominated if supported by at least 30 percent of voters. But there have been moves to create a regulation to add other conditions, such as the requirement to get support from at least 30 percent of provincial branches, which is just ridiculous,” he said.

Golkar’s head of youth affairs, Yorrys Raweyai, meanwhile, complained about Aburizal’s decision to name senior Golkar member Nurdin Halid to lead the steering committee of the Rapimnas.

Nurdin is a former head of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) and a graft convict who is also known as a loyalist of the Bakrie family.

“It is indeed the chairman’s prerogative to name the steering committee head. But in terms of competence, is Nurdin really capable? Besides, Nurdin’s appointment has just strengthened the scenario to orchestrate the next congress to let Aburizal be the chairman for a second term,” Yorrys said.

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Towards Party Congress, Aburizal Blockades Contenders