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Golkar members to challenge Bakrie’s bid for chairman

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s Golkar party will appoint its chairman for the next five years at a four-day national congress starting on Sunday in Bali, the party’s deputy secretary-general announced yesterday, as some party members said they were considering proposing a candidate to challenge incumbent Aburizal Bakrie’s re-election bid at the congress.

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s Golkar party will appoint its chairman for the next five years at a four-day national congress starting on Sunday in Bali, the party’s deputy secretary-general announced yesterday, as some party members said they were considering proposing a candidate to challenge incumbent Aburizal Bakrie’s re-election bid at the congress.

Mr Tantowi Yahya, who is also a lawmaker for Golkar, told news portal Kompas.com yesterday that they had obtained a permit to hold the meeting in Bali.

Golkar is the country’s oldest and second-biggest political party. It came in second behind the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) at this year’s legislative election and failed to nominate Mr Bakrie as a candidate for the presidential election.

Mr Bakrie, however, has indicated that he is looking to run for chairman again, despite criticism from some party members, who have cited his lack of achievement for the party under his leadership.

Seven other candidates have also declared their intention to run for the post, including current deputy chairman Agung Laksono and former lawmaker Priyo Budi Santoso.

Mr Agung, who announced earlier this year his intention to run for the party leadership, told the Jakarta Post on Sunday that there were ongoing discussions among him and other hopefuls to put forward or endorse a candidate as part of an attempt to challenge Mr Bakrie’s chairmanship bid.

However, he declined to reveal whether the plan involved endorsing a candidate from among those who had declared their intention to run, or choosing an alternative candidate to put forward.

“(The discussion) is ongoing. We are hoping to wrap it up as soon as possible,” Mr Agung told The Jakarta Post.

Golkar’s last party congress in 2009 saw Mr Bakrie being elected as the party’s ninth chairman.

Golkar has been rocked by infighting since Mr Bakrie’s decision this year to support the unsuccessful presidential bid of Gerindra party’s Prabowo Subianto. The move put the party in the opposition camp for the first time in its 50-year history.

Mr Bakrie’s rivals have suggested the party would join the ruling PDI-P and its coalition partners in the government should they succeed in taking over Golkar. Agencies

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