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Jokowi’s hunt for political vehicle looms large over Golkar leadership race
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (center left) and Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartarto (center right) attend a Golkar national congress in Jakarta on Dec. 3, 2019. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he Golkar Party is set to hold a chairmanship race later this year, with some close allies of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo joining the race, which analysts say may decide the political future of the outgoing president after he leaves office.
The tenure of current Golkar chairman Airlangga Hartarto will end this year, setting the stage for a leadership race during a congress.
Golkar deputy chair Melchias Marcus Mekeng said that the congress would be held at the end of this year, despite speculation there might be an effort to bring forward the event before the President leaves office in October.
“The congress will be on schedule. We have a party bylaw that states that a congress must be held every five years. And the next one will be in December this year,” Melchias told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Analysts have said the congress may see the hidden hand of Jokowi playing behind the scenes to sway its outcome in favor of a candidate whom he prefers.
The President has reportedly been seeking a new political vehicle to maintain his and his family’s influence in national politics after leaving office, as the rift between him and his former political vehicle the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) appears to have widened.
Unlike other former presidents, Jokowi does not chair his own political party.
