To advance democracy, political parties must first be democratic

Jakarta, wapresri.go.id – To advance democracy, political parties as its pillar should be democratic first. A good democratic process within the party will have a good impact on national democratization.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla stated this when officially closing the Golkar party’s extraordinary national congress at the Jakarta Convention Center, Jakarta, Wednesday (Dec. 20) night.

In the congress that inaugurated Airlangga Hartarto as the new chairman of Golkar party replacing previous chairman Setya Novanto who was caught in a legal matter, the Vice President expressed his concern over the internal turmoil of the party.

“Golkar Party may have the chance obtain a national or even world record because within 3.5 years this party has five chairmen. Hopefully, it would not happen again in the future,” said the Vice President.

Such congress and  succession, he added, are costly, not only in terms of material things but also on non-material ones in the form of decreasing public trust to Golkar party.

“The political cost is the decline in the credibility of Golkar Party,” the Vice President affirmed.

The Golkar Party chairman of the 2004-2009 period also said internal upheavals within major parties such as Golkar could cause political disruptions at the national level. For that, he hoped that the results of this congress can bring a positive impact for national politics.

“The results of this congress are expected to bring a cooling down effect in the national political situation,” he said.

Speaking of the party new chairman, the Vice President considered Airlangga Hartarto as the right person because he has experience not only in the party officials but also the parliament and the cabinet. He wished these experience could be useful for advancing the Golkar party.

Concuding his speech, the Vice President again advised that the Golkar Party shuld be more democratic than other parties, especially before the 2018 political year. Besides keeping the 50-year-old party stand still, he continued, democratization will also avoid too many leadership changes in the party .

“Democratization in the party must be maintained so there would be no sixth chairman in five years,” he concluded. (AKS/FM, KIP Setwapres)