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ublic opposition to the House of Representatives'€™ move to pass a bill on regional elections '€” which if successful will seize the right to elect regional leaders from the people '€” has taken a new twist with Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama quitting the Gerindra Party, the driving force behind the controversial bill.

Ahok submitted his resignation letter on Wednesday to the Gerindra central board of executives, but avoided a direct meeting with the party'€™s chief patron Prabowo Subianto, whose Red-and-White Coalition of six parties is pushing for the bill'€™s enactment.

If the legislation comes into effect, the election of regional heads will be entrusted to regional legislative councils (DPRDs), which are fully under the control of Prabowo'€™s coalition.

Defending his exit from a party that catapulted him to the Jakarta deputy governor post in 2012, Ahok said the rift between him and the party did not merely concern a difference of opinion, but was a matter of principle.

Ahok said he was unwilling to be elected by a DPRD as he would risk becoming a '€œslave'€ of politicians.

He is not alone. Bojonegoro Regent Suyoto and Singkawang Mayor Awang Ishak, both members of the National Mandate Party (PAN), part of the pro-indirect election coalition, are ready to follow in the footsteps of Ahok if the Red-and-White Coalition exercises its outright majority to make the House endorse the bill.

Dozens of regents and mayors representing 546 regional heads gathered in Jakarta to discuss and protest against deliberations on indirect regional elections.

On Thursday they issued recommendations to be submitted to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the House.

In their recommendations, the regional heads oppose indirect regional elections, but agree to improve the implementation of direct elections. They also insist that regional elections are held as a package to elect a regional head and his/her deputy.

Should the Red-and-White Coalition go ahead with its plan, the regional heads will ask the government, in this case the Home Ministry, to withdraw from the bill'€™s deliberation process.

The government'€™s absence from the deliberation process will effectively suspend the process.

If the bill is endorsed anyway, the regional heads will file a judicial review with the Constitutional Court against the indirect regional election mechanism.

That the regents and mayors include regional leaders who assumed power thanks to support from members of the Red-and-White Coalition only demonstrates disunity of the power bloc that nominated Prabowo and PAN chairman Hatta Rajasa in the July 9 presidential election and lost.

Whatever the motive of the coalition to revive indirect regional elections, this venture has given it a bad name in the eyes of the people. The coalition'€™s commitment to reform has come under scrutiny as direct elections are a product of reform.

As the tug of war drags on, Yudhoyono'€™s response to the direct election controversy is much awaited.

With the end of his tenure drawing near, the President can do something to save democracy from power-hungry political parties.

Yudhoyono has been busy bidding farewell to those who have worked with him during his two terms of office. On Wednesday it was his 65th birthday and he threw a party for Cabinet members at his private residence in Cikeas, Bogor. It was a modest party, with the First Family arranging the event.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto and Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu were the MCs and almost all Cabinet ministers were asked to sing to enliven the occasion.

Laughter marked the event, especially when the ministers performed their songs.

Earlier in the day, Yudhoyono received a surprise birthday present from the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), a South Korean-based organization that offered to nominate Yudhoyono as its president for the next two years.

The news came from the institute'€™s director general, Yvo de Boer, who had visited the President that day. De Boer told a press conference that he could not think of anyone better to lead the institution than Yudhoyono.

He said the President fitted the profile of chairman for an organization that aimed to find a way to lift people, particularly those in developing countries, out of poverty and protect the environment at the same time.

For Yudhoyono these issues are nothing new, given his crucial role in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN secretary-general'€™s High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Contrary to Yudhoyono, who appears to be moving a step closer to international fame, United Development Party (PPP) chairman Suryadharma Ali fell from grace after the same people who made him party leader five years ago dismissed him, citing his implication in a graft case.

Suryadharma was shown the door in a party executive meeting on Tuesday.

His deputy, Emron Pangkapi, was named acting chairman until a new leader is elected in a congress in October.

'€” Dwi Atmanta