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Golkar mulls over possible fourth 2024 alliance
The 2024 presidential election could turn into a four-horse race, as Golkar seems set on forming its own alliance in the event that the proposed "grand coalition" fails to materialize.
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Golkar chairman Airlangga Hartarto (left) and National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar pose together after a private meeting on May 3, 2023 in Senayan, South Jakarta. During the meeting, the two reaffirmed their aim to carry on the Joko “Jokowi” Widodo administration’s big-tent coalition beyond 2024 amid complex negotiations over forming electoral alliances. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
The 2024 presidential election could see four party tickets on the ballot, after the Golkar Party said it planned to set up a new electoral alliance if political parties in the ruling coalition failed to establish a unified alliance against the opposition.
Golkar, along with the National Mandate Party (PAN), has yet to endorse any of the three frontrunners in the electability surveys of several credible pollsters: Ganjar Pranowo, Prabowo Subianto and Anies Baswedan.
Ganjar has been nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), with backing from the United Development Party (PKB). Meanwhile, Prabowo is backed by the Gerindra Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB), and Anies has the support of the NasDem Party, the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
Golkar, the country’s oldest and second-largest political party, has been in talks with Gerindra and the PKB in an attempt to pair Prabowo with its chairman, Airlangga Hartarto. The protracted negotiation, however, is at risk of collapsing and could end up with a Golkar-PKB spinoff bloc, creating the possibility of a four-horse race next year.
Airlangga-Muhaimin ticket
The party’s newly appointed election campaign committee head, Nusron Wahid, told The Jakarta Post recently that the possible emergence of a fourth electoral bloc between Golkar and the PKB remained open. This would hinge on the ongoing negotiations on forming a “grand coalition” to pair Gerindra nominee Prabowo with an unnamed running mate failing to reach a consensus.
“There is a potential [...] if the party elites of the KIB and the KKIR do not share the same intention to secure a landslide victory,” Nusron said, referring to the Golkar-led United Indonesia Coalition (KIB) and the Gerindra-led Great Indonesia Awakening Coalition (KKIR).
