T

he government must ensure that the upcoming simultaneous elections for regional heads take place as scheduled despite the possible absence of the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP), political experts and analysts have said.

With only a few months until the registration of candidates for the polls, Indonesian Civil Society Circle (Lima) chairman Ray Rangkuti said both Golkar and the PPP should not use their prolonged leadership disputes as an excuse to request the government delay the start of the local elections.

'€œIt will not be fair for the public if the elections have to be delayed due to prolonged internal disputes involving party elites,'€ Ray said.

He said that there was no reason for the government to delay the start of the election.

'€œLooking at some technical aspects of the poll, there is no solid evidence suggesting that the simultaneous local elections are not ready to be carried out on schedule,'€ Ray said on Wednesday.

Regional autonomy expert Djohermansyah Djohan further called on Golkar and PPP leaders to immediately work on efforts for reconciliation or risk being left out of the polls.

Golkar and the PPP, the country'€™s second and eighth largest parties respectively, have been divided by infighting among politicians who want to control the parties.

A recent verdict by the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) that upheld the leadership of Aburizal Bakrie over the party has failed to discourage the rival camp led by Agung Laksono, as the latter went on consolidating his supporters to maintain control of the party.

The Agung camp, which has pledged support for President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo'€™s administration, gathered its supporters on Tuesday evening in a national leadership meeting at Golkar'€™s headquarters in West Jakarta, only hours after the Law and Human Rights Ministry announced that it would appeal against the ruling at the Jakarta State Administrative High Court (PTTUN).

'€œ[...] We must believe that we are the legitimate [faction]. The Law and Human Rights Minister [Yasonna H. Laoly] will file an appeal. Thus our chairmanship is still valid. And we need to press ahead with our programs,'€ Agung said.

Yasonna'€™s appeal will likely be a stumbling block for Aburizal'€™s camp in preparing the party for joining the local elections, which are expected to kick off on Dec. 9.

Golkar could fail to join the race if the competing factions fail to secure a final and binding court ruling by the registration period set by the General Elections Commission (KPU) of July 26-28.

The prospect is now greater as the House of Representatives Commission II failed to secure support from all of the 10 political parties in the commission to endorse amendments to the 2015 Local Elections Law and the 2011 Political Parties Law '€” a condition required to allow Golkar to submit the latest court ruling in order to join the election.

'€œWe failed to achieve an agreement to propose the amendments as the initiative of Commission II,'€ commission member M. Lukman Edy of the National Awakening Party (PKB) said on the sidelines of the meeting on Tuesday.

The decision has further complicated efforts by the House to amend both laws.

House leaders have also met with Jokowi in a apparent move to secure the President'€™s support for the plan.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno revealed that Jokowi had actually rejected the House'€™s plan to amend the laws, following his meeting with the House leadership.

'€œThe President has stated that [he] rejected the revision. So, what is applicable is the [existing] Law No. 8/2015,'€ he said.