TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
PDI-P expels Budiman for throwing his support behind rival Prabowo
The PDI-P, with which Budiman has ties dating back to the student-led movements of the late 1980s, formally expelled him as a member on Aug. 24 after its ethics board found that he had violated the party's disciplinary code by publicly declaring his support for rival Gerindra Party chair Prabowo Subianto last week.
Change Size
Budiman Sudjatmiko (center, in white shirt), in his capacity as a then-member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), attends the national meeting of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) on Aug. 22, 2023 in Senayan, Jakarta. (Antara/Asprilla Dwi Adha)
After much speculation over his political fate, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has formally expelled Budiman Sudjatmiko after he publicly endorsed Prabowo Subianto, the main rival of the party’s candidate Ganjar Pranowo in the 2024 presidential election.
Budiman was stripped of his party membership in an official letter signed by PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri and secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto on Thursday.
Komarudin Watubun, head of the PDI-P ethics board, confirmed the decision on Friday. He said the PDI-P leadership had acted on the recommendations of the ethics board, which found that Budiman had violated the party’s disciplinary code.
“When a member expresses support for a candidate other than the one announced by the PDI-P chairwoman, who the world clearly knows is Ganjar Pranowo”, that member has “committed an offense”, Komarudin said.
Megawati publicly announced the Central Java governor as her party’s presidential pick on April 21, just ahead of the long Idul Fitri weekend.
Budiman’s PDI-P membership was thrown into question after his surprising move last week to publicly declare his support for Prabowo, the incumbent defense minister and Gerindra Party chair.
