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Golkar-PAN-PPP alliance keeps options open, hints at nominating popular governors
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An election official looks for any defects in newly printed ballots on Jan. 20, 2019 in Jakarta. The General Elections Commission (KPU) ordered a total of 940 million ballots for the 2019 presidential and legislative elections, which were printed simultaneously by several printing companies. (The Jakarta Post/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he newly formed United Indonesia Coalition (KIB) is keeping its options open to welcoming other political parties while hinting at the possibility of nominating an outsider as a presidential candidate.
Making up around 25 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives, the coalition has enough seats to nominate a candidate. But it has no strong name to date to match potential frontrunners in many public opinion polls.
Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartanto, National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Zulkifli Hasan and United Development Party (PPP) chairman Suharso Monoarfa formally sealed on Saturday the deal of partnering for the 2024 general election and extended their invitation to other parties to join the coalition.
The coalition has yet to decide on a candidate for the 2024 presidential election and hinted at the possibility of nominating a presidential candidate outside the coalition.
The coalition's formation was first announced by Golkar earlier this month in what analysts say was a move to endorse Airlangga as a presidential candidate – although some observers also predicted that the party might drop his nomination to pave the way for endorsing a more popular outsider as Golkar nominee.
Despite being the coordinating economic minister and launching a major branding campaign, Airlangga has been unable to boost his popularity. Many polls show he lags behind frontrunners Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, who still has no party to date, and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who is also the Gerindra Party chair.
“I have been asked whether [the coalition] was for Ganjar, whether [the coalition] was for Anies. We have not talked about the presidential and vice-presidential candidates,” PPP’s Suharso said.
