Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Disgruntled Golkar party politicians have spoken out against Aburizal Bakrie's apparent move to silence opposition within his party ahead of a national meeting to ensure he is named the party's presidential candidate to contest the 2014 election.
Golkar Party executive Zainal Bintang cited the party's decision to bring forward a leadership meeting from October to July as an example of Aburizal's plan to stunt democracy within the party.
"The decision to bring forward the meeting was taken only by two-thirds of the party's provincial leaders without the involvement from leaders from the local branches. The local leaders should be consulted in any decision-making process because they have equal rights. I call on the party elites, as well as other central board members, to uphold democracy within the party," Zainal said on Thursday.
He said that by setting a new date for the meeting, the camp of Aburizal had disregarded calls from the party's grass roots.
"For neglecting the democratic process, the party elites must face any consequences in the future for unilaterally nominating Aburizal Bakrie as the party's sole presidential aspirant. We believe this will aggravate the rift within the party," Zainal said. Another senior party member Yorrys Raweyai accused several party elites with close ties to Aburizal of being incompetent.
"These people don't understand how to run an organization. Their ignorance has obviously sparked friction between the party's members," he said.
Aburizal had earlier announced that he would organize a national leadership meeting three months ahead of schedule to garner more support for his candidacy as the party's sole presidential candidate.
He had expressed his preference for a leadership meeting, which would be easier to control, instead of holding a convention, which would allow other senior politicians in the party to compete with him.
Former Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung has questioned the decision, saying that Aburizal should have consulted the party patron board. Akbar is chairman of the patron board.
Separately, party central board member Firman Subagyo called on all members to get behind the party's decision to support Aburizal's candidacy, or face sanctions.
"The decision to bring forward the leadership meeting, for example, was proposed and agreed by most of the leaders of the provincial branches, which makes it a party decision. The party rules and regulations stipulate that approval for such decision should only be given by provincial leaders instead of leaders from the municipal level. For this reason, they should not oppose the decision," Firman said.
"Once the leadership meeting officially approves Aburizal as the party's presidential candidate, all members must abide by the decision or they will face penalties. The penalties could range from reprimands to dismissals from the party," Firman added.
University of Indonesia political analyst Iberamsjah criticized Golkar's attempt to unite the party members by force only for the sake of Aburizal's nomination as presidential candidate.
"Excluding the party's grassroots leaders from making the decision and penalizing those who disobey the decision is unethical because it is against the basic principle of democracy. Political parties, including Golkar, are supposed to put a premium on democracy. Golkar must examine its regulation if it contradicts democratic values," he said.
He cited holding a convention instead of organizing a stage-managed leadership meeting as an example of the party failing to properly implement democratic principles.
"Aburizal has obviously chosen to turn up his nose at democracy by organizing the leadership meeting. For me, this reflects his fear of other potential figures within the party, such as former vice president Jusuf Kalla and Akbar.
"I think Aburizal is aware that both figures are more popular among grassroots politicians. This may be the reason why Golkar's elites excluded the grassroots leaders from making such a strategic decision."