Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri (centre) delivers a speech during the party's 51st anniversary in Jakarta on Jan 10, 2024. - Antara
JAKARTA: The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) signalled on Thursday (Feb 15) it would be taking up the role of an opposition party to the future government, as presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto appeared poised to succeed President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
One day after Prabowo claimed victory in Wednesday’s presidential election, PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto hinted at the readiness of the party to go into opposition after being the largest party in the ruling coalition for the past 10 years.
“During the PDI-P’s tenure outside the government in 2004 and 2009, we were highly appreciated for our role in improving the quality of democracy,” Hasto said, stressing that the party’s contributions when serving outside the governing coalition were “patriotic” in defense of the people’s interests.
The PDI-P positioned itself as an opposition party in the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2014 after the party’s chairwoman and Indonesia’s fifth president Megawati Soekarnoputri was defeated by Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, her former chief security minister, in the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections.
Megawati’s party came in second and third in the 2004 and 2009 legislative elections, respectively. While the party refrained from using the term “opposition”, as Hasto argued that such terminology was not recognised by the country’s political system, he asserted that PDI-P would continue “supporting pro-people policies” and “stand against harmful ones, such as rice imports that hurt our farmers”, should it decide not to join the governing coalition.
Most preliminary results of this year’s legislative elections from credible pollsters show that the PDI-P is set to retain its position as the biggest party in the House. A quick count result by Litbang Kompas, the research arm of Kompas daily, for example, showed the party led the race for House seats with 16.36 per cent of the vote.
The party, however, is projected to lose in the presidential election, as the candidate pair it backed, Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD, only got 16.32 per cent of the votes, according to Litbang Kompas’ quick count results.
Prabowo and his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka leads the race with 58.45 per cent, while Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar trails in second place with 25.23 per cent. According to these results, Prabowo is set to win the election in a single round of voting after securing more than 50 per cent of the vote.
Yet, Prabowo’s Gerindra Party did not mirror its chairman’s achievement in the race, as the party is forecast to sit in third place with 13 per cent of the vote behind the Golkar Party with 15 per cent.
Analysts say that a legislature heavily filled with PDI-P members might pose a challenge for Prabowo, as he may not be able to rule effectively without securing a majority in the House.
“Prabowo will need a strong coalition that controls the House to help him implement government policies,” said Ujang Komarudin, political analyst at Al-Azhar University in Jakarta on Friday.
He added that the Prabowo-led Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM) electoral alliance, which comprises Gerindra, Golkar, the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Democrats, would need to reach out to rivals and expand to secure a legislative majority in an effort to avoid potential gridlock.
In his victory speech in Jakarta not long after the polls closed on Wednesday, Prabowo suggested that he would build an inclusive coalition that may include his political rivals, a governance model championed by incumbent President Jokowi during his two five-year terms.
Prabowo said he would embrace all elements and forces in putting together a government.
Analysts also view Jokowi’s efforts to reconcile with Megawati prior to election day, according to various news reports, as an indication that the outgoing leader was trying to lobby the PDI-P to align with Prabowo in the next government.
However, given the bad blood between Megawati and Jokowi, the PDI-P is likely take on an opposition role in the legislative body, said Agung Baskoro, an analyst at political consultancy firm Trias Strategis Politika.
“It appears that Megawati will find it very hard to work together with Prabowo’s camp, given that she has been greatly betrayed and let down by Jokowi,” Agung said, asserting that Jokowi’s betrayal cut deeper than Yudhoyono’s.
Megawati’s relationship with Jokowi, a PDI-P card-carrying member, fell apart after the latter broke with his party and effectively campaigned for Prabowo, who pledged to continue the President’s agenda and legacy programmes.
A major blow to the relationship came in November last year when Jokowi let his eldest son Gibran run with Prabowo in the presidential race, allowing his formal rival to tap his huge support base.
“The PDI-P has a very strong history playing opposition in the House,” said Agung. He added that the party could run an effective check and balance in the legislative body, which would be good for the country’s democracy, should it find other parties to ally with.
But questions linger as to whether the NasDem Party, National Awakening Party (PKB) and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which had backed opposition figurehead Anies, will join forces with the PDI-P, as they have toned down their criticism of the election result.
“Having no parties other than PDI-P outside the governing coalition,” Agung said, “could leave the opposition camp almost toothless.” - The Jakarta Post/ANN
