G

olkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie remains confidant of securing a second term in an upcoming chairmanship vote, despite escalating tension within the party following his failure to achieve victory in elections this year.

Golkar finished second behind the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the April 9 legislative election, but Golkar deputy secretary-general and Aburizal'€™s close aide Lalu Mara Satriawangsa said the poor result would not significantly hamper Aburizal'€™s ongoing reelection bid.

'€œMany have said that Pak Ical failed [in the election]. The results of this year'€™s [legislative] election, however, show that Golkar managed to secure four million votes more than it did in 2009,'€ Lalu told The Jakarta Post on Monday evening.

'€œIt'€™s true that we currently have fewer [legislative] seats, but that'€™s down to the different method employed to calculate [lawmaker seat distribution],'€ he added.

Golkar internal rules stipulate that in order to be elected chairman, a candidate must garner support from the majority of 547 available votes '€” which represent the party'€™s central board and its branches, chapters and affiliated organizations '€” at a Golkar national congress.

Aburizal was elected as Golkar'€™s ninth chairman in 2009 and will serve until the party'€™s next scheduled congress in 2015. Should he manage to win reelection, Aburizal, who will turn 68 this week, will be the first Golkar chairman to do so since the party was established in 1964.

Although the party'€™s central board would only announce the location and date of Golkar'€™s national leader'€™s meeting (Rapimnas) scheduled for later this month, Lalu claimed Aburizal had received endorsements from almost all Golkar branches and chapters to lead the party for another five-year term.

'€œTo be fair, it is only Pak ARB who has visited every inch of the country. As of today, he has visited more than 450 regions across Indonesia in his capacity as Golkar chairman,'€ Lalu said, referring to Aburizal by his initials.

As of this week, seven Golkar members '€” lawmakers Airlangga Hartarto, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita and Zainudin Amali, deputy chairman Agung Laksono, party executive Hajriyanto Thohari, former industry minister MS Hidayat and former lawmaker Priyo Budi Santoso '€” have announced their intention to challenge Aburizal in the party'€™s next chairmanship vote.

As well as collectively criticizing Aburizal'€™s failure to secure election victory for Golkar, Aburizal contenders have also lambasted his decision to support the unsuccessful presidential bid of Gerindra Party chief patron Prabowo Subianto, a decision that has landed Golkar outside the ruling circle for the first time in the party'€™s 50-year history.

Aburizal has recently been appointed as the coordinator of the Red-and-White Coalition, which supported Prabowo in the July presidential election and now forms the opposition in the House of
Representatives.

Like Aburizal, rival contenders have also claimed that they have secured support from many Golkar regional executives for their candidacy.

'€œAs of today, our campaign headquarters in Jakarta has received support letters from Golkar regional executives representing at least 300 party chapters and branches,'€ the spokesperson for Agung Laksono'€™s campaign team, Lamhot Sinaga, said on Tuesday.

Lawmaker Agus, meanwhile, said he had visited around 250 party chapters and branches in the past two months, mainly to introduce his leadership vision and missions to Golkar regional executives.

'€œI was the last to enter the chairmanship race. Other candidates have had longer to prepare,'€ he said, explaining his intensive efforts to persuade potential voters.

From Nov. 17 to 19, Golkar will hold its Rapimnas, during which the party is expected to announce the details of its next national congress.