The Golkar Party'€™s advisory council has warned that intensifying rivalry between incumbent chairman Aburizal Bakrie and his rivals in the race for the chairmanship of the party could result in a standoff, paralyzing Golkar.

Golkar Party advisory council head Akbar Tandjung, a former Golkar chairman, said a party statute stipulating that a candidate in the party'€™s leadership race had to be endorsed by at least 30 percent of vote-wielding members, could create a major problem in the race, which is scheduled for January next year.

'€œI'€™m concerned about the possibility of Golkar regional executives endorsing more than one candidate. [Members of] the executive and steering committees for the national congress must carefully ensure which endorsements are deemed valid,'€ Akbar said over the weekend.

Golkar'€™s statute stipulates that to be elected chairman, a candidate must secure the majority of support from 547 voters who represent the party'€™s central board and its branches, chapters and affiliated organizations.

Golkar deputy secretary-general and Aburizal'€™s aide Lalu Mara Satriawangsa said Aburizal had the support of over 450 Golkar regional chapters for his reelection bid.

Meanwhile, Golkar deputy chairman Agung Laksono, who has been tipped as Aburizal'€™s strongest rival in the race, claimed he had received backing from at least 300 of the party'€™s local branches.

Aburizal, who turned 68 on Saturday, was elected Golkar'€™s ninth chairman in 2009 and will serve until the party'€™s next congress in 2015. If reelected, Aburizal will be the first to achieve the feat since the party was established in 1964.

Opposition against Aburizal increased after Golkar failed to win the April 9 legislative election.

Resistance grew stronger following Aburizal'€™s decision to support the unsuccessful presidential bid of the Gerindra Party'€™s Prabowo Subianto, which landed the party outside the government for the first time in the party'€™s 50-year history.

Party members who challenged Aburizal'€™s decision were reportedly threatened with dismissal, an allegation Aburizal repeatedly denied.

Lawmakers Airlangga Hartarto, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita and Zainudin Amali; former industry minister MS Hidayat; party executive Hajriyanto Thohari and former lawmaker Priyo Budi Santoso also intend to join the race.

Amid pressure from his rivals, Aburizal, who until recently had been reluctant to announce the schedule for the party'€™s national congress, finally agreed on Friday to hold the congress in January 2015.

Although more details of the race are not available until the party completes its national leadership meeting next week, a spokesperson for Agung'€™s campaign team, Lamhot Sinaga, said the former coordinating minister for people'€™s welfare had a head start in the race.

'€œWe'€™ve campaigned in dozens of regions without knowing when the race will take place. Now, after the announcement, we can easily ask Golkar regional executives to make a written commitment to support Pak Agung'€™s candidacy,'€ Lamhot told The Jakarta Post.

Former minister Hidayat also offered specific campaign promises to Golkar regional executives immediately after the announcement.

'€œShould I be elected Golkar chairman, I will recruit a large number of young people from various regions to join the party central board. That'€™s my promise,'€ he said.

Poltracking Institute researcher Agung Baskoro considered Aburizal as the frontrunner in the race.

'€œThe only way for his rivals to defeat him is by sharing [campaign] resources and collectively endorsing one candidate to challenge Aburizal in a one-on-one race,'€ he said.

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