The internal conflict that has riven the Golkar Party continues with loyalists of party chairman and presumptive presidential nominee Airlangga Hartarto dismissing calls to remove him as current party leader and accusing dissenters of wanting to take over the party to back other candidates for their own interests.

As next year’s general elections approach, the country’s second-oldest party is facing pressure from its members to finalize its choice on a presidential nominee. A group of the party’s senior politicians has even pushed for an extraordinary congress to remove Airlangga as chairman should Golkar fail to do so.

But Agung Laksono, the chairman of Golkar’s advisory council, dismissed calls for a leadership change, describing the plea as a maneuver by “uninvited riders” seeking to undermine the party’s unity ahead of the elections.

“The council didn’t recommend an extraordinary congress at all,” Agung said on Thursday. “I ask for the spreading of this idea to be stopped.”

Read also: Senior Golkar politicians call for Airlangga’s removal if he fails to contest in 2024

Agung was referring to the advisory council’s joint recommendation issued during a three-hour meeting at his private residence on Sunday. During the meeting, the council discussed the party’s direction ahead of next year’s election.

Among key points agreed to in the meeting, according to a copy of the document obtained by The Jakarta Post, was for Golkar to set up an alternative electoral alliance to make sure the party has an electoral vehicle to have Airlangga as a contender in the presidential race. Such a move, it is claimed, would raise morale among all Golkar legislative candidates and help the party win the legislative election.

The document also asserted that Airlangga should declare himself as a presidential candidate and pick a running mate no later than August.

Unsatisfied by the conclusion, some senior members including Ridwan Hisjam, who attended Sunday’s meeting, and Lawrence Siburian have gone public and called for Airlangga’s replacement in an extraordinary congress. Lawrence cited Airlangga’s unclear direction as the cause of the party’s declining electability.

Read also: Discourse: Golkar looks to field younger candidates in upcoming elections

Responding to the call for his removal, Airlangga said on Thursday that he had no plans to hold an extraordinary congress in the near future. But he welcomed anyone who wished to contest the Golkar chairmanship during an upcoming national congress next year, five years after a congress that announced his reelection as the party chairman.

Discussion on which presidential and vice-presidential candidates the party would back are still ongoing. “The discussion can’t be held in a hostile environment. It needs to be cordial,” he added.

Once the dominant party of Indonesian politics, Golkar has seen a decline in electoral success in recent years. It previously swept all six general elections during the New Order regime of dictator Soeharto, the party’s chief patron during his 32-year presidential tenure.

Golkar will need to build an electoral alliance with other political parties if it wants to back Airlangga as presidential candidate. The party controls less than 15 percent of House of Representatives seats, less than the 20 percent presidential threshold required.

The party was among the earliest to form an electoral alliance for the 2024 elections, the United Indonesia Coalition (KIB) comprising Golkar, the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the United Development Party (PPP). The alliance, however, has failed to name a strong contender to rival the frontrunners in most public opinion polls.

Golkar has gradually lost its bargaining power, with the PPP deciding to join the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in backing Central Java Governor and presumptive candidate Ganjar Pranowo, putting the fate of the KIB in question.

Read also: Vice-presidential candidates in focus in alliance talks

Airlangga has found support from other party executives, such as Nusron Wahid, who was recently appointed to head Golkar’s election campaign committee. He has accused some individuals within Golkar of trying to “forge a deal with a particular presidential candidate” by calling for Airlangga’s removal from the party’s top seat.

Nusron, however, said there was no need to excessively respond to such calls. The party would instead use them as motivation to work harder in the upcoming legislative elections, he added.

Several Golkar regional chapters have also voiced their support for Airlangga, saying that an extraordinary congress months before the election would only distract the party from its efforts to win the upcoming race. Gandung Pardiman, the chairman of Golkar’s Yogyakarta regional chapter, said the pressure for an extraordinary congress “didn’t make any sense,” according to a report in tempo.co.

Golkar’s chapter in Riau Islands also dismissed the extraordinary congress. “What we need now is to work together within the party for a strategy to win the election,” said Akhmad Ma’ruf Maulana, the chairman of Golkar’s Riau Island regional chapter.

Fadli in Batam, Riau Islands, contributed to this report

Popular

Military deployment against student protest draws flak

Into the light, Danantara

Fuel price hike puts further strain on workers, economy