Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri has warned of the potential for electoral fraud in the 2024 presidential election in her first speech after an open rupture between the party and the First Family.

Megawati broke her silence on Sunday after weeks of speculation about her reaction to the shock nomination of Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, as presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto’s running mate. Jokowi’s apparent decision to pair his son with the Gerindra Party leader has been taken as the clearest sign yet that the veteran PDI-P member intends to go against his own political party, which is fielding Ganjar Pranowo for president and Mahfud MD for vice president, in the Feb. 14, 2024, race.

In a 10-minute speech that was livestreamed on YouTube, Megawati called for a “democratic, fair, direct, general, free and confidential election”, after expressing her concern about ongoing attempts to roll back the nation’s democratic gains.

“The people should not be intimidated as they were in the past. Do not let election fraud, which has already started to manifest, happen again,” she said, adding that voters had a right to vote according to their “conscience”.

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