<![CDATA[Purpose: This article reconstructs an implementable model of internal democratization for Golkar's regional-head candidate selection by converting empirical weaknesses into institutional safeguards. Design/Methodology/Approach: An explanatory qualitative case study was conducted across the gubernatorial and six regency/municipal election arenas in Gorontalo Province during the 2024 simultaneous regional elections. Data from eight purposively selected informants, party and election documents, official digital records, and verified news were analyzed through process tracing, thematic coding, and source triangulation. Findings: Candidate selection was institutionally organized but democratically uneven: candidacy began mainly through assignments, member participation was stronger during mobilization than selection, survey data were not fully accessible, accountability flowed upward, and the final recommendation remained concentrated at the central level. Across four arenas for which the assignment-to-final-candidacy trajectory is explicitly traceable in the evidence reported here, three involved repositioning or substitution and one showed continuity. These findings ground the DIALOGIS-GOLKAR model, which combines layered selectorates, open nomination, integrity thresholds, merit assessment, member deliberation, audited surveys, mandate-based coalition bargaining, reasoned joint ratification, and an internal objection mechanism. Practical Implications: Golkar can pilot the model in phased form by institutionalizing six minimum safeguards—open nomination, an independent merit-and-integrity panel, member deliberation, audited surveys, reasoned center-region ratification, and an internal objection channel—then evaluate compliance, representation, member acceptance, post-selection cohesion, and electoral performance. Originality/Value: The article shifts internal-party democracy research from diagnosis toward an evidence-based institutional design that balances member sovereignty, local knowledge, organizational cohesion, and electability.]]>
