Election For The General Chairperson Of The Golkar Party, Between Acclamation, Voting And Deliberation

Illustration of the Golkar Party flag (Photo: kabargolkar.com)

JAKARTA - The Golkar Party will hold a National Conference to elect a new chairman in December. There were four figures sticking out to become a candidate for chairman, they were Airlangga Hartarto (incumbent), Bambang Soesatyo, Ridwan Hisjam, and Indra Bambang Utoyo. Of the four names, two were named as the strongest candidates, Airlangga and Bambang Soesatyo.

The National Conference is not yet running, but the discourse on the process of selecting the general chairman has surfaced. What is certain is that the acclamation will not occur at the party bearing the banyan symbol, said Golkar Party Intelligence and Strategic Studies Deputy Secretary Djafar Ruliansyah Lubis, who rejected the process.

The acclamation for him will destroy this party. He said that this acclamation process occurred in the Golkar Party only during the New Order era, after which it was completely gone. He claimed that the Golkar Party was the first to show the Indonesian people the democratic election of their party leaders by abandoning the old school pattern, the 'acclamation system'.

The fear of acclamation arose when 33 out of 34 DPD I of the Golkar Party voiced support for Airlangga Hartarto, at the Golkar Party National Meeting on November 14. However, these political events cannot be read that simply.

"If someone is confident they will be elected because they are supported by the majority of DPD I, it is clear that this is wrong," Executive Director of Voxpol Center for Research and Consulting Pangi Syarwi Chaniago was quoted as saying by Antara, Monday, November 18.

He said, the existence of 514 DPD II Golkar Party will determine whether the acclamation scenario will proceed or fail. Pangi said, with the number reaching hundreds, the district / city level Golkar administrators became the most significant voters in the Golkar National Conference when compared to DPD I which numbered only 34.

For example, at the 2004 Golkar National Conference, said Pangi. At that time Akbar Tandjung as a candidate for chairman of the Golkar Party was very confident because he already fully held the votes of DPD I. But recently, he lost to Jusuf Kalla who got the majority of the DPD II.

Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary General of the DPP Golkar Maman Abdurahman said the encouragement of deliberation to reach consensus in selecting candidates for party chairman was part of the evaluation and a long journey. Because, he said, the National Conference by voting always leaves scars from the remaining battles in the form of factions (winners and losers) so that they inherit a prolonged internal conflict.

"So I think we have to make efforts to make this happen. If there are those who disagree with a consensus, it is questionable," he said.

Pelita Harapan University Political Observer Emrus Sihombing thinks there are a number of advantages if the election for the chairman of the Golkar Party is conducted deliberately. The advantages include; parties carry out the fourth precept of Pancasila and the opening of the 1945 Constitution, preventing conflicts within the party, maintaining solidity within the party, cheaper political costs, eliminating the possibility of political practice due to greater 'logistical' offers so that it becomes a focus on political struggle, thus avoiding politics win-lose between factions.