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NU figure or vote-getter? Pick for running mate hinges on Ganjar’s electoral performance
After being forced to announce her pick for president earlier than expected due to the political fallout from Indonesia’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup fiasco, the ruling party matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri is now faced with another big challenge – choosing the right running mate for Ganjar Pranowo, who is still struggling to reclaim his lead in polls.
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Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) presidential nominee Ganjar Pranowo (center) shakes hands with supporters as he visits a low-income residential area in Pademangan, North Jakarta, on June 25, 2023. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
Ao:p>After being forced to announce her pick for president earlier than expected due to the political fallout from Indonesia’s FIFA Under-20 (U-20) World Cup fiasco, the ruling party matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri is now faced with another big challenge in choosing the right running mate for Ganjar Pranowo, who is still struggling to reclaim his lead in the polls.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman has another two months to search carefully for the most suitable running mate for the Central Java governor before announcing her pick in September, only weeks before the registration for presidential and vice presidential candidates opens, the party said.
“July [and] August will be the time to vet [potential names]," PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said in a statement on Tuesday. "We’ll find the best arrangement while also looking at electoral aspects, so the joint leadership of Ganjar and his running mate will be certain to have the greatest support from the people to win the election."
Megawati, he said, had the final say but she would also coordinate with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who is a fellow party member, and leaders of political parties backing Ganjar in the 2024 presidential race.
Leading the only party that has the golden ticket to field a candidate pair on its own, Megawati has resisted pressure to name her preferred running mate after suggesting in April that more than 10 figures had reached out to the PDI-P for the post following Ganjar’s nomination.
Read also: Megawati to name Ganjar’s running mate in September: Hasto
