p–ISSN: 2723 - 6609 e-ISSN: 2745-5254
Vol. 4, No. 8, August 2023 http://jist.publikasiindonesia.id/
Doi : 10.59141/jist.v4i8.662 990
"POLITICAL CONFLICT IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: A CASE STUDY
OF POST-MUNASLUB LEADERSHIP DUALISM IN DELI SERDANG, NORTH
SUMATRA"
Dinita Ayu Novela
University of Indonesia Depok, Indonesia
Email: [email protected]
*Correspondence
INFO ARTIKEL
ABSTRACT
Accepted
: 05-08-2023
Revised
: 11-08-2023
Approved
: 12-08-2023
This journal broadly discusses one of the recurring issues that often
befall political parties, especially in Indonesia, which is political
conflict and factionalization. The case study referred to in this context
occurs within the internal dynamics of the Democratic Party,
particularly after the extraordinary National Congress (Munaslub) held
in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra. The theoretical perspectives utilized
are political conflict theory and factionalism theory. Political conflict
theory, as proposed by Prof. Maswadi Rauf, posits that political
conflicts arise from three factors. Firstly, the desire to compete for
political positions or power. Secondly, differences in political policies.
Thirdly, divergent views on political institutions. Meanwhile,
factionalism theory, based on the ideas of Raphael Zariski, defines
factions as intra-party groups whose members share the same identity
and goals, and they collaborate to achieve those objectives.
The research methodology employed is qualitative, supported by in-
depth interviews and literature review techniques.
Keywords: Women's
Representation; Gender
Representation; Affirmative
Action; Political Parties;
Elections.
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
Introduction
The problem studied in this study is to see the phenomenon of political conflict
and factionalism that occurs within a political party. Meanwhile, the problem then wants
to be reviewed specifically through the case of leadership dualism experienced by the
Democratic Party, namely between the leadership of Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono
(AHY) and the leadership of Moeldoko. In this case, the reasons underlying the raising
of the problem can at least be formulated into two main things (Arianto, Zetra, &
Fadhilah, 2021). First, the turmoil that occurred within the Democratic Party began with
a statement delivered by Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono in his press conference on
February 1, 2021, which stated that there was an attempted coup or takeover of the
leadership of the party he commanded which allegedly involved five perpetrators. The
five perpetrators were then described by AHY as consisting of one active cadre, one
cadre who has been inactive for six years, one former cadre who has been dishonorably
dismissed nine years ago because of corruption cases, one cadre who has declared his
departure since three years ago, and one other person identified as coming from an
external party who is suspected to be an important official in President Joko Widodo's
government (Guritno &; Erdianto, 2021). Later in its development, the external party in
question finally began to be revealed to the public and referred to the figure of
Moeldoko who served as Chief of Presidential Staff for the 2019-2024 period. While
"Political Conflict in the Democratic Party: A Case Study of Post-Munaslub Leadership
Dualism in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra"
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 4, No. 8, August 2023 991
second, the chaos then continued to become a new problem when several parties on
behalf of themselves as Democratic Party cadres held an Extraordinary Congress (KLB)
at The Hill Sibolangit Hotel, Deli Serdang, North Sumatra on March 5, 2021 (Syahrian,
2021). Meanwhile, one of the important decisions made in the KLB then resulted in the
new management of the Democratic Party under the leadership of Moeldoko as general
chairman. In addition, in the KLB, it was also decided that the management of the
Democratic Party under the leadership of AHY as chairman of the 2020 Congress
results had been decommissioned (Robby, 2017).
Furthermore, after the implementation of the KLB, the Democratic Party then had
management dualism at the same time. It also raised a dispute between the two
administrations when the leadership of the Democratic Party as a result of the KLB
wanted to officially register with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. Meanwhile,
the management plan of the KLB results then drew strong protests from the
management camp led by AHY because it was considered to have no legal standing
(Suryarandika &; Yulianto, 2021). The validity of the implementation of the KLB was
also questioned by the management camp led by AHY because it was considered not by
the provisions stipulated in the Democratic Party's Articles of Association and Bylaws
(AD / ART) officially registered with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. In
addition, the AHY management camp also questioned the legality of the KLB
participants because they were considered not legal voters (Navasari & Nuralim, 2022).
This is because the provisions stipulated in the Democratic Party's AD / ART have
stipulated that parties who are considered to have valid voting rights in congress forums
are those who are recorded as daily administrators of the Regional Leadership Council
(DPD) and Branch Leadership Council (DPC) of the party throughout Indonesia. In
addition, the AHY management camp also questioned the legality of the KLB because it
did not meet the requirements stipulated in AD/ART, especially regarding permission to
hold a congress from the Chairman of the Upper House of the Democratic Party held by
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as chairman of the 2015-2020 period (Umam, 2021).
In addition to causing disputes between the two existing administrations, the
problems experienced by the Democratic Party are also often associated with allegations
of intervention carried out by the government. This at least cannot be separated from the
status and position of the Democratic Party which is outside the administration of
President Joko Widodo. As a result, this then led to various speculations that considered
that the appearance of Moeldoko, who is one of the important officials in President Joko
Widodo's administration, was an effort to make the Democratic Party part of the
government's supporters. Meanwhile, this tendency is then reflected in a study
conducted by (Romli, 2018) which states that the tendency of internal conflicts in
political parties in Indonesia is not caused by differences in vision/mission, platforms,
and ideologies, but rather influenced by pragmatism over the choice of political party
coalitions to support the government and the interests of gaining power (Romli, 2017).
In addition, the study also states that the factor of coalition choice or opposition is also
an important variable in explaining conflicts within political parties. The trend that then
"Political Conflict In The Democratic Party: A Case Study Of Post-Munaslub Leadership
Dualism In Deli Serdang, North Sumatra"
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 4, No. 8, Agustus 2023 992
develops is marked by the emergence of divisions that can eventually lead to the birth of
new parties or dual management.
As for referring to the historical context of the founding of the Democratic Party,
the problem of political conflict and factionalism that occurs internally is not new. This
has long been an open secret of the Democratic Party which for a long time was thought
to consist of certain groups or factions, such as the founding faction chaired by Subur
Budi Santoso as the first general chairman of the Democratic Party, the supporting
faction of Hadi Utomo as the second general chairman elected at the congress in Bali in
2005, the faction supporting Anas Urbaningrum who was elected as the third general
chairman in the 2010 congress in Bandung and the pro-Marzuki Alie faction who listed
as the former Secretary General (Secretary General) of the Democratic Party for the
period 2005-2010 and chairman of the House of Representatives of the Republic of
Indonesia for the period 2009-2014 (CNN Indonesia, 2021). Further, in reality, these
factions often engage in confrontations both openly and privately about the direction of
party policy both before the mega scandal of corruption cases that ensnared several
well-known Democratic Party cadres was revealed to the public and afterward.
Especially after the Democratic Party is outside the government, it then often becomes a
discourse that eventually raises the seeds of conflict between these existing factions.
The reason is the dynamics that come to the surface then often show a very strong
rivalry between these factions in fighting for influence and control over the Democratic
party.
Then since the succession of leadership within the Democratic Party with the
election of Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) as the new party leader, it gave rise to
new seeds of conflict due to dissatisfaction from several existing factions. The reason is,
it cannot be separated from the dimming of the existence of these factions due to not
being given more positions and space in the party management structure because in
general it is dominated by new figures. This was also accompanied by disappointment
from these factions in seeing the electoral achievements of the Democratic Party after
the 2019 election considering that the former ruling party had twice failed to win the
presidential election and the presidential election. As a result, this reflects that the
political conflicts that arise within the Democratic Party are caused by political policies
that in this case are considered less accommodating to existing faction groups,
especially since the regeneration of party leadership after the election of AHY as the
new general chairman.
In addition, the problem of political conflict and factionalism experienced by the
Democratic Party is also related to differences in views in responding to the future of
the Democratic Party, especially in the face of simultaneous elections in 2024.
Especially if you look at the current position of the Democratic Party which is still
outside the government, what happens often raises concerns among these factions
because they feel that the party's performance is becoming increasingly eroded. It is also
accompanied by the low level of electability of AHY which from the beginning has
been predicted to become a candidate for future leaders. For this reason, these existing
"Political Conflict in the Democratic Party: A Case Study of Post-Munaslub Leadership
Dualism in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra"
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 4, No. 8, August 2023 993
factions are then encouraged to carry out several political maneuvers to realize the
things that are their views on political institutions. One of them was then realized by
planning to replace the position of party chairman and nominate a new figure who was
considered more capable of helping them realize their interests. Finally, the choice was
then dropped to the figure of Moeldoko who currently serves as Chief of Presidential
Staff and at the same time is a former TNI Commander in the era of SBY's leadership
while still serving as president. With this status, these factions then consider that
Moeldoko is a realistic option to be nominated as a presidential candidate in the
upcoming 2024 presidential election in the hope that it can help restore the glory of the
Democratic Party as it had achieved when delivering SBY to become president and
become the ruling party for two terms (Abdullah et al., 2021). For this reason, based on
the explanations above, this study wants to see the form of political conflict and
factionalism in the case of the dualism of Democratic Party leadership between the
AHY and Moeldoko camps.
Before describing theories about political conflicts and factionalization within
political parties, this paper needs to be preceded by an explanation of institutional
problems that often occur in a political party in Indonesia, especially since the
Reformation era. According to a study (Farida & Setiawan, 2021), there are three
important problems in the institution of a political party, namely ideology or platform,
cohesiveness or conflict management, and recruitment and regeneration. In addition,
(Farida & Setiawan, 2021) also explained that several factors need to be considered in
explaining the condition of political parties in Indonesia in general. First, it refers to the
inability of political parties to become public institutions that can have accountability to
their voters. Second, there is oligarchic domination that often shackles the strategic
decision-making process of political parties. While third, the implementation of
functions that have not been able to take place optimally.
Research Methods
To obtain the necessary data, this study used qualitative methods. The qualitative
method itself is a research method conducted to describe a phenomenon more
specifically and comprehensively (Neuman, 2007). Meanwhile, this research is broadly
included in the type of social research that is projected to collect and analyze various
research findings obtained, to provide answers to the research questions asked (Payne
&; Payne, 2011). Then, related to data collection techniques, this study uses an in-depth
interview method with several informants who are considered to have sufficient
competence and are relevant to the focus of this research problem, so that the output
obtained will be included in the type of primary data. In addition, this study also uses
secondary data that refers to related literature, be it in the form of books, journal
articles, scientific publications, and institutions as well as online publications. For this
reason, the following is a list of informants that will be used as references.
Results and Discussion
"Political Conflict In The Democratic Party: A Case Study Of Post-Munaslub Leadership
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1. Institutional Issues of Political Parties
As a basis, the institutional problems of political parties in Indonesia can be
understood through the arguments put forward by (Manggalou, 2017). There are three
problems related to the institution of political parties in Indonesia, including; ideology
and platforms, cohesiveness and conflict management, and finally recruitment and
regeneration. First, it is related to ideologies and platforms where an ideology that is not
only an identity but also a political stance or political position has not been formed
clearly and maturely. This is evidenced by the ideology of political parties that have not
been translated into concrete political party platforms. Both become vital to the basic
foundations of a political party. Ideology becomes a value guideline for party cadres and
administrators in carrying out programs, decision-making bases, and positions on
policies and political work activities in society. While the platform can be interpreted as
a blueprint or proposal offered to the community originating from an ideology which is
then interpreted as the basis for the preparation of tangible things in the form of
programs and policies. In Indonesia, the ideology espoused by political parties (Islam,
nationalism, democratic socialism, Islam-nationalism) has not been fully translated into
a real policy or program. Many of the resulting policies are still general in nature and do
not contrast one party with a similar ideological base. Thus, it can be seen that there is
unclear asceticism and bias in the ideology and platform of political parties in
Indonesia.
Second, related to cohesiveness and conflict management in political parties,
where political parties should be one of the agents of conflict management, what often
arises is the internal conflict of the political party itself. One source of that conflict is
factionalism. Political parties should ideally be able to resolve their internal conflicts
without interference from third parties through internal mechanisms that have been
created and mutually agreed upon in the form of articles of association/bylaws. The
problem of cohesiveness and conflict management in political parties in Indonesia is
still considered unsuccessful to see rather than the end of the existing conflict, namely
in the form of division. It is also a reflection that the party's internal democracy is not
working as it should. The institutional problems of political parties in this context can at
least also refer to the perspective of Boucek (2012) which shows that if there is
competition between factions within a political party, it is considered to cause conflict.
Moreover, it is also explained by David Hine (1982) that internal conflicts in a political
party are closely related to the emergence of factions contained in it. The reason is, the
conflict will not occur if it is not preceded by the emergence of factions within a
political party. In addition, the occurrence of political conflicts within a political party
can also be influenced by misalignment in terms of strategy, policies, and ideologies
owned by each faction. Even if it is related to the perspective expressed by Boucek
(2012), political conflicts can only occur within a political party, if the prevailing
factionalization pattern is categorized as competitive and degenerative. Especially if
referring to this explanation, it can be said that research on factionalization within
political parties is important to do because it can be used as one of the parameters in
"Political Conflict in the Democratic Party: A Case Study of Post-Munaslub Leadership
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assessing the quality of institutional aspects and democratization processes that develop
in a political party. Although the context emphasized by this study is more focused on
its relation to the context of regional elections.
Then in identifying the cause of the emergence of a faction, the perspective of
Raphael Zariski is at least recorded as categorizing it into five factors. First, it refers to
the similarity of values and ideological attributions between party members which then
encourages the emergence of a faction to fight for certain things within the party.
Second, related to the sociological complexity experienced by party members, such as
due to factors such as class structure, ideology, age, education level, and so on. Third,
through the prevailing political system, including the party system and the electoral
system. Fourth, due to the prevailing organizational structure of the party. While the last
is due to the leadership of party elites, where the presence of factions in a political party
tends to be often capitalized on to achieve certain goals or interests, such as gathering
support for decisions or policies to be taken (Ariffin, 2019).
Third, the issue of recruitment and regeneration of political parties is still
considered less institutionalized. This can be seen from the emergence of the
phenomenon of "instant cadres" that arises due to the unreadiness of political parties in
carrying candidates for legislative and executive members. This phenomenon will also
allow other phenomena such as the phenomenon of party cadres "jumping fences". This
is due to the lack of role of the party in instilling ideology and values, vision-mission of
the party to foster the loyalty of its cadres. These problems are evidence that political
parties have not sought a firm and systematic system in terms of recruitment and
regeneration patterns.
As an organization, problems related to the internal cohesiveness of political
parties become vulnerable to political divisions. Referring to the writing written by Sri
Suryanti (2018), conflicts or divisions within the party body can be triggered by the
scarcity of positions and resources. The fewer positions or resources each member or
group of a political organization can afford, the sharper the conflict and competition
between them for those positions and resources. This is evidenced in political parties in
Indonesia that experience internal conflicts and then form factions until it leads to
secession and creates new political parties.
The process of succession to the party leadership is often the initial trigger of
internal party conflicts, where there is dissatisfaction among some cadres over the
organizational mechanisms and decisions of the party. This is then exacerbated by the
factors of elite oligarchy and personality figures in political party organizations; In this
case, conflicts can arise due to the rejection of the domination of elite power within the
party. The centralization of the party's organizational structure is also a problem, which
requires that the management of the party at the lower levels must be subject to central
decisions, where the central decisions rest with the elite. This makes the autonomy of
the party system not happen.
To strengthen Sri Suryanti's argument related to elite oligarchy and personality
figures in political party organizations, (Setiawan & Nainggolan, 2004) indicated that
"Political Conflict In The Democratic Party: A Case Study Of Post-Munaslub Leadership
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Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 4, No. 8, Agustus 2023 996
political parties in Indonesia after the New Order began to shift their pattern which was
originally a pattern of personality parties to elite-based parties. The appointment of the
founder of the party with the full power of the political party that is irreplaceable shows
the pattern of strengthening political parties towards clientelistic parties. Such as PDI
Perjuangan with the figure of Megawati Soekarnoputri as the irreplaceable general
chairman, Gerindra Party with Prabowo Subianto, Democratic Party with SBY's strong
figure in it, Surya Paloh and Wiranto with their parties namely Nasdem and Hanura and
other parties. In such conditions, the strength of the party is no longer based on the
strength of its institutions, programs, and ideologies but rests on the strength of the
leader or patron figure of the party.
Institutional problems of political parties in Indonesia occur not without reason,
referring to a study by (Musa, Ibietan, & Deinde-Adedeji, 2020), argued that existing
party regulations have not had a significant effect on strengthening party institutions
because they are caused by the lack of modern internal party systems. In addition, the
study also explains that several obstacles must be faced by political parties in Indonesia
in realizing ideal institutional aspects, such as the need for large funds to be able to win
elections which then burden politicians who are cadres to behave corruptively, the
inability of political parties to perform political recruitment functions in a democratic,
transparent and meritocratic basis, The failure of political parties in building a
regeneration system, ideologization, and political education functions which ultimately
has an impact on the emergence of pragmatism in the institutional aspects of political
parties, as well as the tendency of pragmatism that is rife in party life which eventually
eliminates the sense of militancy of cadres and in dilemmatic conditions, political
parties tend to be encouraged to use instant methods to attract voter sympathy and do
money politics.
Teguh Irmansyah's argument is also strengthened by (Bhayangkara, 2019) where
the institutional problems of political parties in Indonesia are evidenced by the
emergence of the phenomenon of cartel patronage politics. The motive of the cartel
patronage phenomenon is to direct the party's behavior in maintaining the existence of
its interests. The basic assumptions that construct the political logic of cartels are; The
state is the source of party finance, then the party will depend on state money. With this
logic, the party that was originally oriented towards providing services to constituents or
the people then shifted towards approaching the government. If the party's politicians do
not get the resources of the state directly, then they will seek rent and commit other
corruption. This phenomenon is caused by the weak institutions of political parties with
the lack of entrenchment of party ideology, which has implications for the decline in
integrity standards of political party cadres, coupled with problems in the party
recruitment and regeneration system that is not commensurate with the meritocratic
basis at the organizational level.
Then on the other hand, according to findings from a study by Arya Fernandes
and Noory Okthariza (2020), it is shown that one of the problems faced by political
parties in Indonesia over the past decade is related to internal political conflicts. The
"Political Conflict in the Democratic Party: A Case Study of Post-Munaslub Leadership
Dualism in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra"
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 4, No. 8, August 2023 997
political conflict referred to by Fernandes & Noorsy (2020) is explained as an
implication of political differences within political parties which eventually lead to
divisions. In addition, political conflicts within political parties are also described as
phenomena caused by undemocratic policy-making processes that apply within a
political party. For this reason, it can be said that the problem of internal conflict in a
political party has a close relationship with institutional problems and democratization
in the political party. Although other factors also need to be looked at, such as the
degree of political fragmentation (factionalization) and internal leadership models. The
reason is, political parties with a high degree of political fragmentation are generally
considered to have more democratic tendencies than parties with a single leadership or
several people. Several experts use different approaches to gauge the level of internal
democracy in political parties. However, in general, two things can at least be used as a
reference. First, it refers to how inclusive the decision-making process and electoral
process are within a political party. Second, related to how decentralized and distributed
the policy-making process is within a political party. Especially if it is related to the
phenomenon of factionalization and specifically reviewed in the prevailing reality in
Indonesia, it can be said that parties with strong factions usually have an orderly level of
competition and their policies accommodate other factions. The reason is, the existence
of factions also encourages the emergence of healthy internal competition to get several
political incentives. The perspective of Cox (2000) mentions several political incentives
that motivate party members to join certain factions such as political endorsements, and
financial backing, to fill positions. In addition, other factors that are also important to
look at are related to the level of political fragmentation and leadership models that
develop within a political party. Parties with a high degree of political fragmentation
usually have a more democratic tendency than parties with a single leadership or several
people.
History Formed, Central Figures, Successes, and Challenges of the Democratic
Party
The Democratic Party, which was established on September 9, 2001, cannot be
separated from the background of its establishment on the initiative of Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono who had suffered defeat in the election of vice presidential candidates at the
MPR session in 2001 (Kompas.com, 2021). His defeat then inspired several figures, one
of which was Vence Rumangkang who planned to push for SBY to become president.
From this initiative, assisted by Sutan Bhatoegana, a Team of Nine was formed was
tasked with designing the establishment of the Democratic Party which consisted of ten
people, including; Vence Rumangkang, Ahmad Mubarok Yani Wahid, Irzan Tanjung,
Subur Budhisantoso, RMH. Heroe Syswanto Ns, Rizald Max Rompas, RF. Saragjh,
Dardji Darmodihardjo, and Rusli Ramli. On September 10, 2001, the draft formation of
the Democratic Party was registered with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights,
then successfully ratified on September 25, 2001, as a political party (Kompas.com
2021).
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The initial success in the 2004 legislative election (with 7.45 percent of the vote
or 57 DPR-RI seats) cannot be separated from its support base in urban areas and
around the southern coast of East Java, this huge support is also influenced by media
branding of the Democratic Party as "SBY's party" (Yuniarto, 2021). The success of this
party is also increasing, evidenced by the victory during the two-round presidential
election in 2004 with SBY as the figure he carried. The peak of the Democratic Party's
success occurred during the legislative and presidential elections in 2009, where SBY
was also brought forward again to continue his leadership as president of the Republic
of Indonesia together with Boediono, the pair managed to get 60.80 percent of the votes
(Yuniarto, 2021).
However, in the 2014 and 2019 elections, the Democratic Party experienced a
significant decline in votes. Initially, in 2009 this party was able to get 20.85 percent of
the vote with the acquisition of 148 DPR seats, in the 2014 election only got 10.9
percent of the vote then decreased again in the 2019 election with 7.7 percent of the
votes. The decline in the number of votes in the Democratic Party cannot be separated
from the dynamics that occur within the democratic party, such as the fight for party
leadership seats, as well as corruption cases committed by Democratic Party officials
(Yuniarto, 2021).
Table 1
Democratic Party Central Leadership Council 2001-2025
Department
Time
Position
Incumbent
2020-2025
Chairman
H. Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, M.Sc.,
M.P.A., M.A.
Secretary-general
H. Teuku Riefky H.,B.Sc., M.T.
General Treasurer
H. Renville Antonio, S.H., M.H., M.M.
2015-2020
Dr. H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Secretary-general
Dr. Hinca IP Pandjaitan XIII, S.H, M.H.
General Treasurer
Dr. Hj. Indrawati Sukadis, M.Si.
2013-2015
Chairman
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Daily Chairman
Syarief Hasan
Secretary-general
Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono
General Treasurer
Handoyo S. Mulyadi
2010-2013
Chairman
Anas Urbaningrum
Secretary-general
Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono
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Dualism in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra"
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 4, No. 8, August 2023 999
General Treasurer
Muhammad Nazaruddin
2005-2010
Chairman
Hadi Utomo
Secretary-general
Marzuki Ali
General Treasurer
Zainal Abidin
2001-2005
Chairman
Subur Budhisantoso
Secretary-general
Umar Said
General Treasurer
I Wayan Gunastra
In addition, other issues that also need to be explained within the Democratic
Party can at least refer to the results of Rowdotusya'adah's research (2018) entitled
"Institutionalization of Political Parties and Intra-Party Factions (Study of the
Emergence of Anas Urbaningrum Factions in the Democratic Party)". Meanwhile, the
main argument of the study then states that institutionalized political parties tend to
allow the emergence of intra-party factions. In addition, the study also obtained other
findings that show that the emergence of the Anas Urbaningrum faction within the
Democratic Party is caused by the similarity of values, common strategies, and personal
loyalty to the figure of Anas Urbaningrum, the emergence of the Anas Urbaningrum
faction functions as a faction on interest and is included in the category of personal or
client-group factions (factions influenced by individual leadership factors) and
competition that The incident between the Anas Urbaningrum faction and the Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) faction illustrates the dynamics of degenerative
factionalism, which is a condition where the ruling elite and ruled elite destroy each
other (Rowdotusya'adah, 2018).
Furthermore, the turmoil that has occurred within the Democratic Party in recent
weeks seems to be a déjà vu of a series of political conflicts that have plagued internal
political parties in Indonesia. This is because the phenomenon is historically part of
events that often come to the surface, especially since the rolling of the Reformation era
in the late 1990s. In this case, the public may still remember the events of political
conflicts that have hit several political parties in Indonesia, such as the National
Awakening Party (PKB) in the era of President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and the United Development Party (PPP), Golkar Party,
National Mandate Party (PAN), Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Hanura Party and
Berkarya Party in the era of Joko Widodo's (Jokowi) presidency since 2014 until now
.ini. For this reason, it at least shows that during Jokowi's reign, political parties often
experienced internal conflicts (Ristyawati, 2019). In fact, of all these political conflicts
then not infrequently even gave rise to several new political parties which were splinters
of the parties involved in the conflict. Examples can then be seen through the existence
of several political parties, such as the Gerindra Party, the Nasdem Party, the Indonesian
Justice and Unity Party (PKPI), the Work Party, the Gelora Party, to the Ummat Party.
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As a result, the impression that appears seems to show that the phenomenon of political
conflicts that often hit the internal Indonesian political parties is a matter of course.
Theoretically, the participation of political parties in a general election (election)
has the main purpose and interest, namely to gain or seize power. Then to achieve
victory in an election contestation, political parties tend to be able to take all means and
efforts to make this happen. One of them is through the use of pragmatic methods that
are often counterproductive to the principles and values of party ideology in general.
The use of pragmatic methods carried out by political parties in reality also often
violates the prevailing regeneration cycle and process, one of which is marked by a
tendency that encourages political parties to prefer to provide support to figures or
candidates who are considered popular rather than their cadres. The reason. This is
because political parties only tend to be oriented towards achieving victory and can
eventually gain power through existing political positions or positions. Especially in the
context that prevails in Indonesia in general, this tendency is relatively prevalent in each
political party, especially since the rolling of Reformasi. The tendency to prefer popular
figures over candidates who are cadres of a political party in an electoral context then
reflects that to obtain victory, political parties can often be pragmatic. This is because
the orientation of political parties is solely intended to support figures or candidates who
are considered to have greater potential for victory than other candidates. For this
reason, in this context, it can be used as a basis to explain the turmoil that occurred
within the Democratic Party, especially after the implementation of the Extraordinary
Congress (KLB) in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra some time ago which then resulted in
new management under the leadership of Moeldoko as the new general chairman.
Further related to the turmoil that is currently befalling the Democratic Party, the
explanation that can then be given in this context is at least not much different from the
explanations proposed to respond to political conflict events experienced by other
political parties before. The reason is, if referring to the perspective of the professor of
Political Science FISIP UI, Prof. Dr. Maswadi Rauf in his book entitled "Consensus and
Political Conflict: A Theoretical Assessment" then it can be formulated that political
conflicts are caused by three types of factors. First, due to the desire to compete for
political positions or power. Second, because of political policies. Meanwhile, the third
is related to differences in views of political institutions. In this case, the desire to fight
for political positions or power, one of which can then be reflected in the conflict of
interest in each faction within the Democratic Party. This has long been an open secret
of the Democratic Party which for a long time was suspected to consist of certain
groups or factions, such as the founding faction chaired by Subur Budi Santoso as the
first general chairman of the Democratic Party, the supporting faction of Hadi Utomo as
the second general chairman elected at the congress in Bali in 2005, the faction
supporting Anas Urbaningrum who was elected as the second general chairman in the
2010 congress in Bandung and the pro-Marzuki Alie faction who listed as former
Secretary General (Secretary General) of the Democratic Party for the period 2005-2010
and chairman of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia for the
"Political Conflict in the Democratic Party: A Case Study of Post-Munaslub Leadership
Dualism in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra"
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 4, No. 8, August 2023 1001
period 2009-2014. Further, in reality, these factions often engage in confrontations both
openly and privately about the direction of party policy both before the mega scandal of
corruption cases that ensnared several well-known Democratic Party cadres was
revealed to the public and afterward. Especially after the Democratic Party is outside the
government, it then often becomes a discourse that eventually raises the seeds of
conflict between these existing factions. The reason is the dynamics that come to the
surface then often show a very strong rivalry between these factions in fighting for
influence and control over the Democratic party. However, this was able to be reduced
well thanks to the role and dominance of SBY who from the beginning became a central
figure in the Democratic Party, so that the potential for division could finally be
overcome.
However, since the succession of leadership within the Democratic Party with the
election of Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) as the new party leader, it has raised
new seeds of conflict due to dissatisfaction from several existing factions. The reason is,
it cannot be separated from the dimming of the existence of these factions due to not
being given more positions and space in the party management structure because in
general it is dominated by new figures. This was also accompanied by disappointment
from these factions in seeing the electoral achievements of the Democratic Party after
the 2019 election considering that the former ruling party had twice failed to win the
presidential election and presidential election. As a result, this reflects that the political
conflicts that arise within the Democratic Party are caused by political policies that in
this case are considered less accommodating to existing faction groups, especially since
the regeneration of party leadership after the election of AHY as the new general
chairman.
While related to differences in views of political institutions, this can at least refer
to the discourse among these factions regarding the future of the Democratic Party,
especially in the face of simultaneous elections in 2024. Especially if you look at the
current position of the Democratic Party which is still outside the government, what
happens often raises concerns among these factions because they feel that the party's
performance is becoming increasingly eroded. It is also accompanied by the low level of
electability of AHY which from the beginning has been predicted to become a candidate
for future leaders. For this reason, these existing factions are then encouraged to carry
out several political maneuvers to realize the things that are their views on political
institutions. One of them was then realized by planning to replace the position of party
chairman and nominate a new figure who was considered more capable of helping them
in realizing their interests. Finally, the choice was then dropped to the figure of
Moeldoko, who currently serves as Chief of Presidential Staff and is also a former TNI
Commander in the era of SBY's leadership while still serving as president. With this
status, these factions then consider that Moeldoko is a realistic option to be nominated
as a presidential candidate in the upcoming 2024 presidential election in the hope that it
can help restore the glory of the Democratic Party as it had achieved when delivering
SBY to the presidency and become the ruling party for two terms. As a result, these
"Political Conflict In The Democratic Party: A Case Study Of Post-Munaslub Leadership
Dualism In Deli Serdang, North Sumatra"
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 4, No. 8, Agustus 2023 1002
things, whether we realize it or not, have created loopholes for the entry of opportunist
and pragmatic external parties, which ultimately contributed to the condition of the
Democratic Party becoming divided as it is today.
Conclusion
Based on the findings obtained, it can be said that the dualism of management
within the Democratic Party between the management camp led by Agus Harimurti
Yudhoyono and the management camp led by Moeldoko shows the problem of political
conflict and factionalization. This is due to the factor of dissatisfaction from several
elites within the Democratic Party who have concretely institutionalized into the form of
faction groups. In addition, another problem is due to concerns about the fate and future
of the Democratic Party, which some factions consider increasingly concerning,
especially when referring to the downward trend in votes since the 2014 and 2019
elections. Therefore, these faction groups then tried to make changes or changes in
management by holding a KLB forum in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra which at the
same time attracted external figures or figures who were considered to be able to help
realize their interests, namely Moeldoko who also served as Chief of Presidential Staff
(KSP) in the current era of President Joko Widodo's administration.
"Political Conflict in the Democratic Party: A Case Study of Post-Munaslub Leadership
Dualism in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra"
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 4, No. 8, August 2023 1003
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