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Golkar in daze after court ruling
A court decision on Monday brought the settlement of months-long infighting within the Golkar Party back to square one, risking both conflicting camps not contesting the upcoming regional elections, as a permanent solution may fail to meet the General Elections Commissionâs (KPU) deadline for a resolution
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A court decision on Monday brought the settlement of months-long infighting within the Golkar Party back to square one, risking both conflicting camps not contesting the upcoming regional elections, as a permanent solution may fail to meet the General Elections Commission's (KPU) deadline for a resolution.
Expressions of happiness from dozens of supporters of Golkar's Aburizal Bakrie camp erupted at the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) in Pulo Gebang, East Jakarta, as presiding judge Teguh Satya Bhakti announced that the court had dismissed the leadership of his rival Agung Laksono within Golkar.
After weeks of hearings, the court decided to annul a ministerial decree issued by Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly that had recognized Agung as Golkar chairman, arguing that it stood on false grounds.
'Nine experts [provided by both the plaintiff and defendant] had dissented on whether Golkar's tribunal had made a decision [favoring Agung's camp]. The law and human rights minister was not within his capacity to interpret the tribunal's decision. [The ministry] can issue a decree when there is no internal problem,' judging panel member Tri Cahya Indra read out the decision.
But the spontaneous euphoria did not last long as the court did not rule that the Aburizal camp was the valid representative of the party.
The decision put Golkar back in limbo, which could also mean the party is on the verge of being absent from the 269 regional elections set to kick off concurrently in December. The number is about half of the total regencies, municipalities and provinces in Indonesia.
The KPU has insisted on upholding its regulation, saying that any political party experiencing an internal dispute cannot participate in regional elections until there is a final and binding court decision or a reconciliation between conflicting camps by the end of June.
But reconciliation did not seem to be an immediate option for the supporters of Agung, a former minister who was Aburizal's deputy in Golkar during the previous chairmanship.
'This is unfair. We reject this decision. We are filing an appeal,' Agung said while rushing to his car.
An appeal will mean a longer judicial process to reach a final decision. It could take more than a year, based on previous cases.
Agung's lawyer, Lawrence Siburian, claimed that judges had ignored many facts and testimonies presented before the court.
'The law on political parties stipulates that only the party tribunal has the right to make a decision on a party's internal conflict. It was also ignored by the judges, as if the court had the right to determine the decision of the party's council,' he said.
The House of Representatives, which is dominated by the opposition coalition to which Aburizal-led Golkar also belongs, has attempted to persuade the KPU to relax its regulation to enable Golkar, as well as the United Development Party (PPP), which is also currently facing an internal dispute, to take part in the regional elections.
Due to the KPU's insistence, lawmakers of the opposition parties have proposed an immediate revision to the Regional Elections Law, which has practically not been applied to guide any regional election since it was passed in February.
House speakers held a consultation meeting with President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo to obtain the government's consent to revise the law as well as the Political Parties Law.
'We, of course, hope that there will be a final decision coming from the President. Let's just wait,' House Speaker Setya Novanto of Golkar, considered part of Aburizal's camp, said after the meeting at the Presidential Office, adding that they believed Jokowi would take 'a wise' stance on the matter.
Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto said the President had yet to indicate his stance on the House's amendment plan.
'The President has listened to the [House's] considerations they used as the basis to revise [the two laws]. The President said it should first be studied at the ministerial level.'
Aburizal's camp unilaterally decided to hold a congress in Nusa Dua, Bali, late last year, which named Aburizal the party's chairman for another five-year period.
Claiming cheating and foul play from Aburizal's camp to block local pro-Agung representatives, Agung's camp held its own congress a few weeks later. There he was declared Golkar's new chairman.
'The best feasible option is to end the fight peacefully otherwise none of the competing factions can nominate their candidates,' said Titi Anggraini, executive director of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem). (saf)
