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Retired generals set to join presidential campaigns
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An officer from the General Elections Commission (KPU) introduces five different ballots at the KPU building in Central Jakarta in 2018. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
Former top members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) have thrown their support behind presidential candidates for the 2024 election, highlighting the strategic roles that powerful military figures play in Indonesian politics.
While political elites are currently scrambling to build coalitions in an attempt to find the winning pair for next year’s election, former TNI top brass have been selecting which front-runner to support.
Former TNI commander Andika Perkasa, for instance, has joined a list of potential figures to lead the campaign team of Ganjar Pranowo, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) presidential nominee. Andika, the son-in-law of former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief A.M. Hendropriyono, was also tapped as the strongest vice presidential candidate from the military, along with Democratic Party chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, who quit the army to enter politics.
Andika claimed to have campaigned for Ganjar before officially announcing his support for the white-haired politician at a PDI-P event in July. “I have personally expressed my support for Ganjar as I feel more drawn toward him,” he said after briefing Ganjar’s campaigners in Jakarta, as quoted by Antara.
In addition to Andika, 10 other former TNI top brass have thrown their support behind Ganjar, including former National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Lt. Gen. (ret) Ganip Warsito, former navy chief of staff Adm. (ret) Bernard Kent Sondakh and former air force chief of staff air chief marshal (ret) Agus Supriatna.
Prabowo Subianto, the only prospective presidential candidate with a military background, has garnered the support of former TNI commander Wiranto and former commander of the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) Muchdi Purwoprandjono. It is worth nothing that both Wiranto and Muchdi backed Prabowo’s rival, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, in the 2019 election, signalling a significant shift in the political landscape among former military generals.
Andika’s move to back Ganjar and Muchdi’s decision to support Prabowo have sparked speculations about Hendropriyono’s stance on the election. Andika is the son-in-law of the former BIN chief, while Muchdi was his deputy while he served in the intelligence body.
