Bahlil Lahadalia, the Chairman of Golkar, referred to the party’s 2004 convention to determine the presidential candidate to be endorsed by the beringin tree logo party. He highlighted the case of Prabowo Subianto, who, 20 years later, won the 2024 presidential election through his own party, Gerindra, after losing the Golkar convention.
In his speech at the Golkar anniversary in Sentul, Bogor, on Thursday (12/12/2024), Bahlil recalled the 2004 Golkar convention, which saw participation from figures like Akbar Tandjung as the Chairman, along with Aburizal Bakrie, Surya Paloh, Wiranto, and Prabowo Subianto.
Notably, Wiranto emerged as the winner of that convention,” Bahlil said, “However, God did not decree him to become president in the subsequent elections. On the other hand, the candidate who lost in the convention immediately became president 20 years later.”
Bahlil praised Golkar as an inclusive party, citing Akbar Tandjung’s decision to allow other cadres to compete in the 2004 convention. He emphasized that the Golkar Party is adaptive and willing to evolve with the existing political system.
He also mentioned the aftermath of the 2004 convention, where several cadres left Golkar to establish their own parties. Wiranto founded Hanura, Prabowo formed Gerindra, and Surya Paloh established NasDem.
