Can Golkar Party Elections Be Free?
It is difficult to say whether the election of the Golkar Party chairman will be free of interference. The hand of the Palace could clearly be seen trying to influence the results long before the Golkar national convention began in Bali. The competition at the Palace between supporters of different candidates is bad for our democracy.
The maneuvering by supporters only intensified in the days leading up to the conference, which seeks a replacement to outgoing Party Chairman Aburizal Bakrie. On one side, there is Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, claiming to speak for President Joko Widodo and supporting Setya Novanto, while on the other side is Jusuf Kalla, backing Ade Komarudin, the current speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR).
May 17, 2016
It is difficult to say whether the election of the Golkar Party chairman will be free of interference. The hand of the Palace could clearly be seen trying to influence the results long before the Golkar national convention began in Bali. The competition at the Palace between supporters of different candidates is bad for our democracy.
The maneuvering by supporters only intensified in the days leading up to the conference, which seeks a replaceme
...