Kalla expects to take Golkar hands down
M. Taufiqurrahman and Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali
Forget the Golkar Party's platform for the next five years and the democratic process to elect its leaders; the party's congress was practically over on Wednesday, one day before the event was scheduled officially to begin.
That is if you believe Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who claimed he had secured majority support for his bid to become Golkar's new leader.
Kalla, who joined the Golkar race despite concerns about the misuse of his executive powers during the election, claimed on Wednesday that he had the backing of 28 of 33 provincial chapters.
"If the 28 provincial chapters vote for me, then we will only need a consensus on the election of the party leader," Kalla said during a meeting here with leaders of Golkar's regency branches.
Only the central board, provincial chapters and affiliated organizations are able to vote for the party's leader.
Kalla's statement came hours after another candidate, House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono, dropped out of the race and endorsed Kalla.
"We have agreed to join forces," Agung said.
Agung's decision was announced during a meeting attended by Kalla, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Fahmi Idris, who was dismissed from Golkar, and media magnate Surya Paloh.
It was agreed during the meeting that Agung would be paired with Kalla as his deputy chairman, while Surya would receive a position on the party's advisory board.
Paloh had been playing with the idea of running for Golkar's top spot, but stepped aside on Monday to pave the way for Kalla.
Current Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung remained confident of reelection despite Kalla's claim.
"He (Kalla) can say anything, but I am confident about the support I have," Akbar said.
The Golkar leader hosted on Wednesday a welcome party for congress participants at a hotel here.
Happy Bone Zulkarnain, a Golkar legislator, voiced concern over the fierce battle being waged for the chairmanship post.
"This congress is expected to draw up our platforms for building the nation. But now we are only focusing on leadership positions in the party," he said.
Kalla said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had approved his Golkar bid, and if he was elected to lead the party there would be no conflicts of interest.
"I will remain objective in performing my job as Golkar leader and Vice President. This is not an issue because there are many party leaders who take up government posts," he said.
However, another candidate, Gen. (ret) Wiranto, doubted Kalla would be able to separate the two positions.
"He will face difficulties in drawing a line between his position as Golkar leader and Vice President," Wiranto said.
Wiranto met with provincial delegations from the early afternoon to the evening.
One of his supporters, however, expressed disappointment with party officials who had pledged allegiance to Wiranto but then met with Kalla.
A number of provincial chapters said they were still debating who they would vote for in the election.
A representative from Southeast Sulawesi said that although all of the members of his delegation attended a meeting with Kalla, there was still no decision on a preferred candidate.
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