Political Harbingers of 2024 Presidential Election
Several indications in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election look promising, as long as the people care and participate actively in the national leadership selection process.
By
J KRISTIADI
·6 minutes read
The fuel of ambition for power has ignited a strident statement from a trusted cadre of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) central board executive Puan Maharani: Bambang Wuryanto has accused Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo of being overly ambitious about running in the 2024 presidential election without the prior consent of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.
The polemic between the two PDI-P figures gives an indication that the political party machinery is starting to warm up ahead of the 2024 election.
The terse exchange is seen as a spark of the prolonged and complicated friction in the top PDI-P leader’s inner circle, with the party’s figures weaving their own clout within the party structure.
Fortunately, the issue was immediately quelled so that the PDI-P does not get caught up in the turbulence of a protracted internal conflict.
Megawati, who has developed wide-ranging political experience and endured painful moments, a hard struggle that was paid with tears and even blood as in the Kuda Tuli tragedy on 27 July 1996, has proved her prowess in managing internal conflicts to prevent them from spilling over.
PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto has used the incident as political momentum to emphasize the party’s coalition strategy towards the 2024 presidential election. In essence, the PDI-P will only form a coalition with political parties that have a nationalist ideology; therefore, it will not consider a coalition with the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
The same attitude has been shown by the Democratic Party, which is considered an electoral and not an ideological party, while the PDI-P is an ideological, mass-based party (Suara.com, 28/5/2021).
The PDI-P secretary general’s statement has been warmly welcomed by National Mandate Party (PAN) secretary-general Eddy Soeparno. He is making sure that PAN does not join a coalition with political parties that claim to be an “Islamic axis”, and prefers to form a coalition with a party that has adopted the principle of pluralism.
The Islamic axis is deemed to have a negative impact because it has the potential to raise identity politics, as happened during the 2019 presidential election (Republika.co.id, 28/5/2021).
Relieving buildup
The ideological statements of the two figures are a great relief. If only the two political parties will bring the spirit of nationalism to the 2024 presidential election. The spirit of nationalism, as Bung Hatta once said, carries a message of shared aspirations among the citizenry to realize collective prosperity.
Igniting the spirit of nationalism means that state figures, government leaders and people\'s representatives must have the competence to feel and experience the aspirations and bitterness of the people gave them the mandate of power, honor and dignity.
Candidates should encourage public debate in order to develop virtuous ideas that will further strengthen the sense of mutualism, not interests based on doctrine and primordialism. As such, the elections can truly serve as an instrument to build the nation.
Another indication is the idea to amend the 1945 Constitution. The idea shows strong nuances of pragmatism and opportunism, and stinks of vested power interests. Its main purpose is to give President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo an opportunity to run for a third term as president. However, Jokowi\'s political instincts are quick.
The proposal that seems to have been seeking success over the last seven years is actually a poison that will erode the sovereignty of the people and lead to an authoritarian electoral power order reminiscent of the New Order regime.
Jokowi has firmly and categorically rejected the subterfuge. He tweeted on his Twitter account @jokowi on Monday (2/12/2019): “Usulan itu menjerumuskan saya” [That proposal has put me in a hole.].
Survey results
According to the survey results of several credible institutions, it is possible to extrapolate a number of presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs. However, what have stood out recently are the maneuvers of Gerindra Party chairman and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.
The inauguration of the Bung Karno statue in the courtyard of the Defense Ministry on Sunday (6/6/2021) and the plans for the Defense University, which is functionally under the guidance of the Defense Ministry, and awarding Megawati an honorary professorship on June 11, are an indication of the increasing intimacy in the relationship between the two party leaders.
The symbolically packaged maneuvers have raised a conviction among the public that the two parties will be forming a coalition for the 2024 election, with their combined legislative seats totaling 35.8 percent, or 206 out of 575 seats in the 2019-2024 session of the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, the other political parties are still exploring each other and working out compromises to accommodate their interests. Public discourse sees the possibility of a coalition between the Nasdem Party, the PKS, and Democrats for a 28.3 percent share of the House (163 seats). The prospective candidate pair is Anies Baswedan and Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono.
Another possibility is a coalition consisting of the Golkar Party, the PKB, and PAN for a 32.5 percent share of the House (187 seats), with Ganjar Pranowo and Yaqut “Gus Yaqut” Cholil Qoumas as their prospective candidate pair. This coalition looks promising because it would represent the nationalist and religious forces that illustrate the plurality of the Indonesian people.
The 2024 presidential election is the fifth direct presidential election. With the experience of four presidential elections, it is hoped that the Indonesian people will be more shrewd in their votes in the face of a future agenda still loaded with multiple tough challenges, including efforts to spur economic growth and the urgency to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as bureaucratic work to manage the very complex state institutions.
The people should not submit to the candidates that the political parties propose. The people’s active participation is called for so that the 2024 presidential election produces national leaders of high performance who have the competence to dive deep into the people\'s interests and the commitment to continue the work of their predecessors with the necessary improvements.
Several indications in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election look promising, as long as the people care and participate actively in the national leadership selection process.