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YOGYAKARTA. The Golkar national leaders meeting (Rapimnas) in Yogyakarta decided on Wednesday to have its national congress elect its next chairman by the end of this month, opening the possibility of the reelection of Aburizal Bakrie.
During the closing ceremony of the two-day meeting, Aburizal announced that the congress would be held in Bandung from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4.
He said that the decision did not violate the party’s statutes and organizational rules. “East Java and Bali are the [host city] alternatives,” Aburizal told the forum.
Earlier, tensions marred the second day of the meeting during discussions on the date for the political party’s national congress to elect its next chairperson.
The majority of the participants proposed that the congress be held on Nov. 30 in Bandung, West Java, while only few participants wanted it to be held in January 2015.
“We had a heated debate on the matter,” chairman of the Rapimnas’ Commission A overseeing organization, Freddy Latumahina, told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the meeting.
He said there were 44 vote holders in the meeting, 34 of which were of Golkar’s provincial branches and the other 10 were from the party’s mass organizations.
Until Commission A’s meeting was closed on Wednesday, he said, only four vote holders wanted to have the national congress in January 2015 as scheduled, those vote holders they were among the party’s mass organizations.
“We can say that the 34 provincial branches that want to have the congress in November are supporters of Aburizal Bakrie who is seeking reelection in the congress,” Freddy said.
He added that during the plenary session held on Tuesday evening Aburizal had expressed his readiness to be reelected as party’s chairman in the upcoming congress.
Other candidates for the party’s chairman include Agung Laksono and Priyo Budi Santoso. Agung receives support from the Multipurpose Cooperative of Mutual Assistance (Kosgoro) and the Indonesian Young Generation for Renewal (AMPI) while Priyo Budi Santoso support from the Mutual Assistance Consultative Organization (MKGR).
Freddy said there had been tension in the plenary session that was held to decide on the congress’ date because each of the camps had their own interests.
He said those who had wanted the congress to take place in January were supporters of Aburizal’s rivals. “They need another month to gather support,” said Freddy who claimed to be supporter of Aburizal.
The fact that 34 provincial branches had wanted the congress to take place in November, he added, would make the other camps reconsider joining the election of the party’s chairman.
Separately, Priyo Budi Santoso said the determining factor in the party’s national congress was the votes belonging to Golkar’s 545 regency and city branches.
“Let them decide and don’t rob them of their voting rights,” Priyo said.
He said he was ready to compete fairly against Aburizal in the congress’ election for the party chairman post. He expressed confidence that the congress’ participants would vote with their heart.
“I am moved to compete in the Golkar chairman race because I want to save the party,” he said.
He added that if he was elected as Golkar’s chairman, he would stop the practice of the centralistic decision-making process within the party, including in the appointment of local council speakers in regions.
“Let the regions decide on such matters,” Priyo said, adding that Golkar was in need of a commanding figure to compete as a presidential candidate in the next election.
Besides the date of the congress, the leaders’ meeting also suggested that the party continue as an opposition party.
In the House of Representatives, the party has joined political parties grouped under the Red-and-White Coalition, which is in opposition to the government’s supporter, Great Indonesian Coalition. (Bambang Muryanto)
