The largest supporter group of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has hinted that it will endorse his erstwhile rival Prabowo Subianto for next year’s presidential race as the group is set to announce its final decision over who it will support for the presidency over the weekend.

ProJo, a 7-million-strong volunteer group that has backed Jokowi since the 2014 presidential election, will unveil its decision at its national meeting on Saturday in Central Jakarta.

President Jokowi, who has been appointed head of the group's advisory board, is expected to give the opening speech at the event and the President’s instruction will guide which candidate the group supports, Projo secretary-general Handoko said on Thursday.

According to Handoko, all regional branches of ProJo have proposed Prabowo of the Gerindra Party as their candidate, but noted that the group would align its political direction with the President’s.

“For sure we will follow whatever he says,” Handoko said.

Saturday’s event will come against a backdrop of flaring tensions between Jokowi and his own party the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) given that he and party chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri have of late become competing kingmakers in the 2024 presidential election.

Despite having no political party of his own, Jokowi has made efforts to consolidate power around him over the years, maintaining an overwhelming popularity as he nears the end of his presidency and commanding the loyalty of millions of die-hard grassroots, non-party member supporters.