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Anies’ alliance showing cracks under pressure to name running mate
The KPP is showing signs of fracturing as the Democrats issue an ultimatum to name Anies’ this month, even as the former Jakarta governor struggles with a declining rating trend.
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Anies Baswedan gestures on Nov. 1, 2020 while posing with supporters on a street in Jakarta. (AFP/Goh Chai Hin) (AFP/Goh Chai Hin)
As opposition figurehead Anies Baswedan struggles to improve his electability in the 2024 presidential race, the Democratic Party has lashed out by threatening to “evaluate” its membership in the three-party Coalition of Change for Unity (KPP) backing the former Jakarta governor unless a running mate is announced this month.
Ever since the NasDem Party, the Democrats and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) formed the KPP earlier this year and named Anies as their presidential candidate, the alliance has failed to settle on who would run alongside him on its ticket, and ultimately resorted to allowing Anies to pick his running mate from a few vetted candidates.
The Democrats have suggested chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono for the role and the PKS has put forth its politician and former West Java governor Ahmad Heryawan.
Also thought to be in the mix is East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawinsa, who hails from the National Awakening Party (PKB).
But with Anies saying over the weekend that a formal declaration would not be made anytime soon even though he already had someone in mind, the Democrats pointed to this uncertainty as the factor behind the decline of 9.5 percentage points to Anies’ electability over the past few months.
The results of an opinion survey by Indikator Politik Indonesia released on Sunday show that Anies’ electability fell to 18.9 percent in late May, continuing the downward trend from 28.4 percent in October 2022 to 24.2 percent in January and then 22.2 percent in April.
The May survey ranked Anies last in a simulation of three candidates, after Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo with 34.2 percent and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto with 38 percent.
