Amir Tejo & Anita Rachman – The deeply divided National Awakening Party (PKB) seemed far from reuniting, as factions in the party failed to find middle ground ahead of the 2014 election.

One faction in the party, led by Yeni Wahid, daughter of former PKB chairman Abdurrachman Wahid, plans to hold a PKB congress in Surabaya on Dec. 26-27.

Yeni suggested to party chairman Muhaimin Iskandar that the event be used as a forum to formalise the reunification of the party. There are two factions within the party, one loyal to the late Wahid and the other to his nephew, Muhaimin.

"There is now some sort of euphoria among the congress participants from the Wahid faction – this is the first time the party has attempted to reunite," said Imron Rosadi, congress organiser.

An invitation has been extended to Muhaimin's side, he said, and they are waiting for confirmation whether or not he will attend the event. "The most important agenda is to bring the two factions back together again," he said.

Abdul Kadir Karding, the head of the PKB executive board from Muhaimin's camp, stated that a national congress could only be held under certain conditions. Attendees must be representatives from the party's branches from all regions in the country, he said

He added that the party holding the congress must also be legally recognized. If a party doesn't meet the qualifications, "it's not a congress, it's just a gathering. A mere political drama," Abdul said.

He denied that Muhaimin would attend the congress. "Why must he come? It's just a fake congress. "If Yeni wants a reconciliation, she must come to Muhaimin, not the other way around," Abdul said. The PKB suffered significant losses as Yeni campaigned for the newly established Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) in the last election, Abdul claimed. "She is the one who has been deflating the party."

Hariyadi, a political analyst from Airlangga University, said the party would have better leverage in the 2014 election if they put more effort in unifying the party.

The political party bill currently being deliberated is likely to increase the parliamentary threshold from the current 2.5 percent to either 5 or 7 percent. Even smaller parties are taking the matter very seriously as their future was under threat by the proposed rules, he said.

"Maintaining egos will be at the cost of PKB's survival," he said. "Reuniting PKB will be the momentum for the party and the Wahid family to be able to survive politically," Hariyadi said.