he Golkar Party central executive board plans to hold a plenary meeting next week to schedule an extraordinary congress (Munaslub) in December, as it rushes to appoint a new chairman to replace Setya Novanto, who is a graft suspect.
The move is to respond to the demand of the party's regional executive board (DPD I) from 31 provinces to hold such a congress, Golkar’s acting chairman, Idrus Marham, has said.
"Next week, we will have a plenary meeting. The agenda is to schedule a congress to be held in December," Idrus said on Wednesday.
The DPD I, which holds the right to recommend when and whether to hold a congress, has proposed holding a Munaslub before Dec. 16 to replace Setya to prevent his alleged role in the massive e-ID graft case from further damaging the party's image.
"We [the central executive board and the DPD I] are on the same page. Only a technical issue [ continues to hinder the plan]; trust me," Idrus added.
Golkar previously decided to wait for Setya's ongoing pretrial motion to reach an outcome before holding a congress, but the DPD I refused to wait.
"If there is no decision [from the central executive board] next Monday, we'll ask them again," West Java's DPD I chairman, Dedi Mulyadi, said.
Idrus has stated his intention to run in the chairmanship race, along with Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto, a front-runner who has secured support from many DPD I leaders and Golkar wing organizations. (ipa)
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