Golkar leaders demand plan for regional polls

M. Taufiqurrahman and Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua

Leaders of Golkar Party's regional chapters demanded the party congress on Friday determine a strategy to ensure their best chances for winning the landmark direct elections for governors, regents and mayors next year.

Several of the party's provincial branches called for the party to immediately draw up an internal regulation that would select Golkar members to be nominated for regional government heads.

"There should be a mechanism to help the Golkar members secure the posts and it has to be drawn up quickly as the elections are just around the corner and we have to be prepared for it," a member of West Sumatra chapter said.

Earlier, the Golkar chapters of Riau and West Kalimantan had raised similar demands, saying the party's control over the executive and legislative branches must be maintained.

Next year, the country will for the first time see a direct election of regional government heads, following the direct presidential elections in July and September this year. The elections will take place in over 160 provinces, regencies and municipalities.

Indonesia is divided into 33 provinces and 440 regencies and municipalities.

The government is drawing up a regulation on the direct regional elections, which will be administered by regional election committees (KPUD). Several non-governmental organizations have criticized the draft, which leaves room for presidents to intervene in the election process to block elected candidates they do not like.

Tjok Raka Kertiyasa, the chairman of Gianyar's regental office in Bali, told the congress the party should just order its regional offices to nominate their leaders for the elections.

"We will campaign to introduce this proposal to our supporters," Kertiyasa said.

The deputy chairman of Jambi's provincial chapter, Mardina, urged the party to determine a program to groom Golkar candidates for the regional elections as the party's short-term objective.

"Provincial offices have agreed that our candidates must win gubernatorial posts; so have the regental and mayoral offices," he said.

Responding to the calls, Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung said he would take the issue into consideration and would discuss the proposal during the congress, which will close on Sunday.

In their official statements, read out during the Friday's plenary session, the provincial chapters also expressed their hope the party would discuss the acceleration of the regeneration process in the party's leadership at all levels.

Meanwhile, Umar Tahir, vice chairman of the West Nusa Tenggara chapter doubted Golkar's claim that it had emerged as a progressive and modern party, saying this was more rhetoric than reality. Undemocratic practices within the party remained as widespread as under the rule of former president Soeharto, who stepped down in 1998, he said.

"We want to have a modern Golkar as what has been promised by our chairman. The regeneration process is moving too slowly," Umar told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the congress.