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Gerindra, Dems meet as coalition talks deepen
In a move that further highlights the unraveling of the coalition of pro-government parties, Gerindra Party officials on Thursday visited the headquarters of the Democratic Party, the leading opposition party, in Menteng, Central Jakarta.
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Democratic Party Secretary-General Teuku Riefky Harsya (right) talks with Gerindra Party Secretary-General Ahmad Muzani when officials of the two parties meet in the Democratic Party headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday, July 20, 2023. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
Negotiations among political-party elites continue to intensify as the Nov. 25 deadline for the presidential election registration draws closer, leaving the possibility open of a reconfiguration of the current electoral alliances.
In a move that further highlights the unraveling of the coalition of pro-government parties, Gerindra Party officials on Thursday visited the headquarters of the Democratic Party, the leading opposition party, in Menteng, Central Jakarta.
The high-profile visit came as the momentum of the candidacy of Gerindra Party leader Prabowo Subianto gathered pace, with the latest polls placing the former military general as the man to beat in the next election and a recent Cabinet shake-up largely seen as a power move by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to distance himself from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the largest ruling party, by appointing a pro-Prabowo figure as the new communications and information minister.
The PDI-P has picked Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, who trails Prabowo in the polls, as its presidential candidate, a unilateral decision that has inevitably polarized members of the ruling coalition into two rival camps rooting for either Ganjar or Prabowo, both of whom claim to have been endorsed by President Jokowi.
Gerindra has formed a coalition with the National Awakening Party (PKB), while the PDI-P has joined forces with the United Development Party (PPP). Both parties are currently seeking to build a bigger coalition to back their respective nominees by approaching other parties within and outside the pro-government coalition.
Read also: Gerindra to welcome new partners for 2024 election, politician says
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