President Jokowi Briefed about Democrat Party Fiasco, Says Minister

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Politics, Law, and Security Coordinating Minister Mahfud MD on March 12 said that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had summoned himself and Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly to be briefed about the Democrat Party polemic.

He recalled this event taking place on Monday last week on March 8 where the President was also accompanied by State Secretary Pratikno. 

Citing an interview with Tempo Magazine, Mahfud said “the President has asked about our plans to solve the Democrat Party conflict.”

He said that both himself and Yasonna explained to the president about a number of regulations that can be used in solving the Democrat conflict which include using the Law on Political Parties as a reference and also the Law and Human Rights Ministry Regulation No.34/2017 that oversees the registration of political parties. 

The meeting between them also talked about the legality of the Democrat Party extraordinary congress (KLB) held arbitrarily in Deli Serdang. However, Mahfud said Jokowi did not mention any conclusions as he is waiting to be briefed on the complete report. 

The polemic between several Democrat Party saw members against the current management arbitrarily dethroning the seat of Party leader Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) - who maintains that the KLB is illegal - by electing active Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko as the new party leader. 

Mahfud MD said the President was not informed about anything regarding the polemic, which includes from Moeldoko, and at the end of the meeting Jokowi ordered them to handle the problem according to the law and asserts that neither Mahfud or Yasonna sides with the parties in conflict. 

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