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Golkar split: Airlangga sets party meeting, invites Bambang's supporters
Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartarto has finally set a date for an initial meeting with party members before holding a plenary meeting, which has been requested numerous times by supporters of potential chair contender Bambang Soesatyo.
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President Joko Widodo (center), flanked by (left to right) Golkar Party politician Ibnu Munzir, Golkar chairman Airlangga Hartarto, Golkar politician Nurdin Halid and Golkar politician Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita during the opening of the party's extraordinary national congress at the Jakarta Convention Center in Central Jakarta on Dec. 18, 2017. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
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mid an internal rift within the Golkar Party, its chairman Airlangga Hartarto has finally set a date for an initial meeting with party members before holding a plenary meeting, which has been requested numerous times by supporters of potential chair contender Bambang Soesatyo.
Bambang's supporters have demanded that the board move the congress forward to elect its new leader, a move which Airlangga's supporters believe is related to the formation of the new presidential Cabinet, as the president will work closely with party leaders along the process, including in selecting candidates for ministerial posts.
The meeting, which will be held for five days starting Sept. 6 at its central executive board headquarters in Slipi, West Jakarta, is intended to evaluate the work of its field coordinators and to prepare the party for the 2020 simultaneous regional elections.
“All board members, both the daily board and plenary board, will be invited to the meeting,” Golkar executive Ace Hasan Syadzily said on Wednesday, adding that Airlangga would lead the event.
On the same day, hours after the meeting schedule was announced, Bambang’s supporters paid a visit to the headquarters to meet the board and asked for a plenary meeting, not only a "field coordinators' meeting".
However, the headquarters was closed, with dozens of police standing in formation outside the main building gate, geared with tear gas shotguns.
No uninvited visitors were able to pass the gate, including journalists. No party members were seen in the area.
