Indonesia's Golkar party picks influential Jokowi's top loyalist as leader

Indonesia's second-largest political party Golkar's chief candidate and Indonesia's Energy Minister, Bahlil Lahadalia attends the Golkar party's national congress at the Jakarta Convention Center in Jakarta, Indonesia, August 20, 2024. Antara Foto/Asprilla Dwi Adha/via REUTERS

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's second-largest party Golkar appointed a top loyalist of President Joko Widodo as its new chief on Wednesday, a move members say could allow the outgoing president to retain political influence long after he leaves office in October.

Bahlil Lahadalia, the newly appointed energy minister and the president's right-hand man, was chosen as party leader at the annual congress of Golkar, the party of the late autocrat President Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for three decades until 1998.