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Prabowo declares 2024 bid with PKB at his back
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Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who was a former Army general, gestures while attending Gerindra Party national leadership meeting in Bogor, West Java, on Aug.12, 2022. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
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efense Minister Prabowo Subianto has officially announced his intent to run for president in 2024, as his Gerindra Party forges an alliance with the Islam-based National Awakening Party (PKB), setting the stage for his third bid for the country’s highest office after two consecutive losses to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
Prabowo's decision came after Gerindra members unanimously agreed to nominate the party chairman as their sole candidate on Friday during a two-day national leadership meeting in Bogor, West Java.
“I hereby declare with a sense of duty that I accept your request [...] to be nominated as a candidate for the president of the Republic of Indonesia,” Prabowo told a cheering crowd.
The former Army general also addressed why he had decided to run again after losing the election three times, twice as a presidential candidate in 2014 and 2019, and once as a running mate in 2009.
“For a warrior, falling is normal. If you fall, you stand up again. We [rise again] with joy and optimism,” Prabowo said. “As long as I am still given breath by almighty God, given strength, I will continue to fight for my people, for my nation, to achieve what was pioneered by the founders of our nation.”
Rival turns ally
Prabowo also took the time to thank his party for sticking beside him throughout his two losses to erstwhile rival Jokowi, as well as after he decided to join Jokowi’s Cabinet soon after the 2019 election.
