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uspended United Development Party (PPP) chairman Suryadharma Ali exacerbated resentment within his party on Sunday after he toured Central Java with the Gerindra Party'€™s presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto.

Suryadharma'€™s chairmanship was suspended during a national leaders meeting (Rapimnas) late Saturday as several top officials opposed his decision to forge a coalition with Gerindra.

The escalating rift may not only jeopardize the party'€™s support of Prabowo'€™s presidential bid, but also spook other parties from joining Prabowo'€™s coalition, analysts say.

In a bid to salvage the party, the Rapimnas assigned former deputy chairman and now acting chairman Emron Pangkapi, to the task of organizing a national congress to elect a definitive leader and decide on coalition partners.

'€œDespite our considerable efforts to communicate [with him], party chairman Suryadharma insisted on not attending the Rapimnas,'€ said secretary-general Romahurmuziy.

'€œBased on that, the Rapimnas agreed to raise its sanction from '€˜first warning'€™, decided in the executive leaders meeting on April 18, to a temporary dismissal.'€

Presidential election regulations stipulate that official party support of presidential candidates must be signed by the party chairman and secretary-general when the candidate is registered with the General Elections Commission (KPU) .

Thus, should Romahurmuziy oppose the policy, the PPP could not officially support Prabowo.

'€œAccording to party statute, a Rapimnas is legal if attended by at least half of the 91 members, which includes elements from the executive board, regional leaders and patrons. Last night, 50 people attended the meeting'€ said Romahurmuziy.

Romahurmuziy also said that Suryadharma'€™s claim that the PPP would support Prabowo'€™s bid had been canceled during the meeting.

He admitted that there was support from within the party for the nomination of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as vice president.

In response to the move, Suryadharma insisted that the Rapimnas did not have the authority to dismiss a chairman.

'€œRomahurmuziy clearly does not understand the party'€™s statute,'€ said deputy secretary-general Syaifullah Tamliha, who is a supporter of Suryadharma.

Suryadharma accompanied Prabowo during a visit to prominent Islamic cleric Maimun Zubair in Rembang, Central Java, on Sunday.

Maimun is not only an influential religious figure but also a member of the PPP sharia assembly.

Political analyst from the Semarang-based Diponegoro University, Susilo Utomo, said that the conflict could also have a negative effect for Gerindra and Prabowo.

'€œThe conflict has affected Gerindra'€™s bargaining position when it comes to forming a coalition with other parties,'€ he said as quoted by Antara.

'€œOther parties may think that the PPP support of Gerindra is not real. The [...] PPP'€™s grass roots may turn to other candidates.'€

Even with the PPP in its camp, Gerindra will still need the support of other parties in order to reach the 25 percent popular vote threshold required to nominate a candidate.

In a separate event, Golkar Party chairman and presidential candidate Aburizal Bakrie met with former Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD in Bali.

Mahfud, who has also been touted as a potential vice presidential candidate for the National Awakening Party (PKB), admitted that the meeting had covered the possibility of him being named Aburizal'€™s running mate.

'€œBut no deal has been made yet,'€ he said.