Robertus Wardhy & Novy Lumanauw, Jakarta – The Democratic Party will attempt to join with Joko Widodo's coalition to fight to retain direct elections for regional representatives, party chairman and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Thursday.
Yudhoyono announced on Twitter late in the evening that he had ordered senior party figures to contact President Joko Widodo's five-party minority coalition, as well as Joko's party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
"I've ordered leaders of Democratic Party to start communicating with PDI-P and [Joko's coalition] to make this fight successful," he said.
Yudhoyono, in a series of tweets from his personal account, said Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) had "violated" a memorandum of understanding signed by members of Prabowo Subianto's Red-White Coalition, or KMP, on Oct. 1.
The agreement spelled out that the Democratic Party would join the KMP only if the five other parties supported Yudhoyono's presidential decree, which overruled the regional elections law, in the House. He said Golkar and the PKS had openly rejected the regulation in lieu of law (Perppu).
"For me it's a principle thing," Yudhoyono said. "The Democratic Party could not work together with those who are inconsistent, break their promises, and are willing to leave their commitments."
Yudhoyono was heavily criticized following the passage of the regional elections law on Sept. 26 after his party walked out of a marathon session in the House of Representatives (DPR). The walkout, which Democratic Party members said was because their amendments to the law did not garner support, effectively ensured the bill's passing.
Yudhoyono, who was overseas at the time, immediately issued a decree scuttling the law on his return – in part because he was worried about his legacy.
E.E. Mangindaan, head of the Democratic Party's advisory board, said he "regretted" the two parties' rejection of the regulation. "They violated what they have signed," he said.
The two parties have said they supported Yudhoyono in issuing the regulation, but not its passage through the DPR, Mangindaan said. The Perppu must be approved by lawmakers for it to take effect.
"We didn't need to ask for their signature to issue the regulation," Mangindaan said. "The statements were about the discussion in the House."
On Thursday, Golkar Deputy Chairman Nurdin Halid argued the party was not rejecting the Yudhoyono's regulation. But said the party would "fight" for indirect elections of regional heads.
"The people should choose their leaders through that representative process, in the local parliament," he said.
Mangindaan said he was still confident the regulation would pass, as there were still more factions supporting than against. The Democratic Party would also try to approach other parties in the KMP to get backing for the regulation, Mangindaan said.