The announcement of Ganjar Pranowo’s nomination further emphasizes that the 2024 presidential election (Pilpres) has begun. The vice presidential nominees will be the next determining factor.
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KOMPAS EDITOR
·3 minutes read
ISTANA KEPRESIDENAN/AGUS SUPARTO
From left, PDIP DPP Chair Puan Maharani, President Joko Widodo, PDIP General Chair Megawati Soekarno Putri, PDIP Presidential Candidate Ganjar Pranowo, PDIP DPP Chair Prananda Prabowo took a group photo after the announcement of the PDIP presidential candidate which was held at the Batutulis Palace, Bogor City, West Java, Friday (21/4/2023).
Ganjar is not the first to be nominated for the 2024 presidential election. There are other nominees already, such as Anies Baswedan, who was nominated by an alliance formed between the NasDem Party, Democratic Party, and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), as well as Prabowo Subianto of the Gerindra Party, Airlangga Hartarto of the Golkar Party, and Muhaimin Iskandar of the National Awakening Party (PKB).
However, Ganjar, who is backed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), is the most definitive candidate. This is because the PDI-P can nominate Ganjar on their own, as it has 128 seats in the House of Representatives (DPR), or 22.26 percent. Other candidates must have the backing of an alliance of parties. There is a provision that a presidential and vice presidential candidate must be nominated by a party or an alliance of parties that has at least 20 percent of DPR seats or has won 25 percent of valid votes in the previous election.
The nominees for vice president will be the next factor to determine the formation of an alliance to back the presidential and vice presidential candidates. The PDI-P's decision to back Ganjar will prompt more intensive lobbying to form an alliance. Parties that are late in lobbying might miss the train. At the same time, the PDI-P is still open to the possibility of forming an alliance with other parties.
The lobbying will be visible not only through various meetings of the political elite. It will also be visible through other events, such as in certain figures switching parties, in internal conflicts or disagreements within a political party, and in published surveys from several institutions. Not to mention black campaigns and negative campaigns about certain candidates.
KOMPAS
Ganjar Pranowo, Prabowo Subianto and Anies Baswedan.
The political parties must have data on each potential presidential and vice presidential nominee. They parties certainly know which potential running mate can help win the election, and which one will contribute significantly to the government.
Indonesian history shows the various roles of the vice president. At the beginning of the establishment of this Republic, Soekarno and Hatta were known as a complementary duo. Although Hatta later resigned as vice president on 1 Dec. 1956, he maintained a good personal relationship with Soekarno. During the first term of the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2004-2009), the term "The Real President" emerged in relation to his vice president, Jusuf Kalla.
The lobbying to determine a vice presidential nominee and alliance will involve many politicians who are still public officials, both in the legislative and executive branches. Therefore, it’s reasonable to hope that their lobbying will not interfere with their concentrating on their duties in the government.
However, if some members of the political elite who start neglecting their responsibilities as public officials because they are busy preparing for the 2024 election, this will be a note to not vote for them again in the coming election. This nation doesn’t really need political elite whose thoughts only go from election to election.
This article was translated by Tenggara Strategics.
