Watching Parties Lobbying

Visiting each other, having discussions, and then making statements related to electoral alliances in the 2024 presidential election (Pilpres). This is the typical activity of party elites and politicians these days.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

General Chair of the Gerindra Party Prabowo Subianto with General Chair of the National Awakening Party Muhaimin Iskandar at Prabowo's residence on Jalan Kertanegara IV, Jakarta, Friday (28/4/2023).

Political lobbying is indeed necessary for parties and political elites because only by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) can nominate a candidate for the 2024 presidential election on its own, as it holds 22.26 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives (DPR). Other parties must form an electoral alliance because only a party or a group of parties that has won at least 20 percent of DPR seats or 25 percent of valid votes in the previous election is eligible to nominate a presidential candidate.

After the PDI-P announced Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo as its presidential candidate (capres), the lobbying intensified, as other political parties could lose momentum if they joined or built an alliance late.

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Although they have met several times, there seems to be no final agreement as yet on the alliances that will compete in the 2024 presidential election. Change is still possible in the three existing alliances, namely the United Indonesia Coalition (KIB), the Coalition of Change for Unity (KPP), and the Great Indonesia Awakening Coalition (KIR). This is because none of these alliances have reached agreement on their presidential and vice presidential nominees.

Although it may seem peculiar, political lobbying while building alliances is has actually been a regular occurrence since the direct presidential election of 2004. The main objective of each party during alliance-building has also remained unchanged, which is to spend as little effort and money as possible while ensuring that their candidate can win the presidential election and have a positive impact on the party’s outcome in the legislative election and standing in the next government.

FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN

PAN chairman Zulkifli Hasan, Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartarto, and PPP general chairman Muhammad Mardiono (from left to right) shaking hands after giving statements to journalists at Airlangga's official residence, Jalan Widya Chandra III, Jakarta, Thursday (27/4/2023) .

This objective means that a candidate's electability, task distribution, campaign costs, and power-sharing in the next government are important aspects of alliance-building discussions. These topics tend to outweigh more ideological concerns.

The pragmatism in building an alliance is evident in, for example, how easily alliances can be formed and disbanded, both in terms of the member parties involved and the presidential and vice presidential candidates they tout.

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> Final Direction of Political Party Support to Become Apparent

> Prospect for 2024 Political Party Alliances

In building alliances, the public is represented mostly through its involvement in electability surveys. Beyond that, the public is largely a spectator to the discussions of party elites and then during the election, chooses among the candidates they have nominated. The public has limited opportunities to influence the elites in their nominations.

This situation could potentially lead to a new pragmatism, such as the practice of vote buying in elections, which has been identified as one of the causes of corruption. After five elections in the reform era, we should be able to break free from this problematic cycle. The 2024 elections should be an opportunity that should not be missed.

This article was translated by Tenggara Strategics.