Prabowo meets PAN leader to explore possible coalition

The Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party's chief patron Prabowo Subianto met with National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Sutrisno Bachir in Jakarta on Wednesday to explore the possibility of forming a coalition.

Accompanied by Gerindra members Muchdi Purwopranjono,  Fadli Zon, and Halida Hatta, Prabowo arrived at the PAN's Central Executive Board office around noon to meet with Sutrisno, Zulkifli Hasan, and Totok Daryanto.

Before the start of the meeting, Sutrisno told reporters that PAN was open to forming a coalition with any party, including Gerindra.

The PAN leader said his party was anticipated to gain 11 to 12 percent of the total votes in the legislative election by the final vote count, meaning they would hold between 61 and 67 seats in the House of Representatives (DPR).

Bachir said Gerindra would win around 6 percent of the total votes, meaning a coalition with PAN would collectively bring them to 17 percent of votes, a step closer to the 20-percent threshold required for parties to nominate a presidential candidate.

"We hope that new figures will emerge in the upcoming presidential election," Bachir said to Antara. (dre)