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n a move to convince presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto of his party'€™s unified support for his bid, Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie has kicked out three lawmakers who publicly expressed support for rival Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo.

The leader of Golkar'€™s faction at the House of Representatives, Setya Novanto, confirmed on Tuesday that the party had officially dismissed senior lawmakers Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, Nusron Wahid and Poempida Hidayatulloh after stripping them of their posts in key House commissions.

'€œThe decision complies with the faction'€™s and the party'€™s central executive board'€™s [DPP] regulations. We had issued warnings twice before taking this action, but were ignored,'€ Setya said on the sidelines of a House plenary meeting on Tuesday.

Setya, a lawmaker for House Commission III overseeing law and human rights, added that Golkar would dismiss more members who supported Jokowi and running mate Jusuf Kalla, a former Golkar chairman, instead of Prabowo and his running mate Hatta Rajasa.

Besides the three lawmakers, Golkar has also dismissed the leader of the party'€™s representative council in West Sulawesi, Governor Adnan Saleh.

'€œAll party members must obey the party,'€ said Setya, who was acting as the official spokesperson for Aburizal. Prabowo has promised a senior ministerial position for Aburizal if he is elected president.

As punishment for breaking from the party line, Golkar previously removed Agus '€” the son of Ginandjar Kartasasmita, a senior Golkar member and a former minister under Soeharto '€” from the chairmanship of House Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs. Country musician Tantowi Yahya is expected to replace Agus.

Golkar has also removed Nusron and Poempida from House Commission XI, which oversees finance, banking and national development planning, as well as from Commission IX overseeing manpower and transmigration.

Golkar'€™s move to dismiss the three lawmakers, who will leave the House at the end of the term in October, was in response to their '€œrebellious'€ support for the Jokowi-Kalla ticket.

Poempida has been acting as a spokesperson for Kalla, while Agus has been campaigning for the Jokowi-Kalla ticket particularly in his hometown in West Java, where he and his father have a strong support base.

Agus'€™ father Ginandjar has also pledged his support to Jokowi, citing the former Surakarta mayor'€™s humble and modest personality as the reason for his decision.

Several of the party'€™s elites, such as Golkar executive and Coordinating People'€™s Welfare Minister Agung Laksono, have expressed regret over Aburizal'€™s move to dismiss '€œrebellious'€ members.

'€œIf the dismissal includes removing their [party] membership, I believe it is too harsh. They are good and capable senior party members ['€¦] this is merely about differences of ideas,'€ Agung said on the sidelines of an event at the State Palace on Tuesday.

'€œI think all the Golkar leaders [should] focus on efforts to win the election. Don'€™t [focus] on matters such as this. It will only create internal turmoil,'€ he added.

Poempida, meanwhile, express-ed outrage over his dismissal from Golkar, criticizing the party'€™s rising '€œauthoritarian'€ style of leadership.

'€œGolkar is used to differences because Golkar is well-known for its democratic atmosphere. I don'€™t know why everything has suddenly changed,'€ Poempida said.

Poempida further questioned Aburizal'€™s decision to kick out him and his two colleagues instead of party members who were implicated in graft cases.

'€œWhy us? If Golkar wants to be professional, it should have dismissed problematic members that are implicated in corruption cases instead of those who have a different political stance.'€