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PDI-P might 'need rethink' on projected poll losses
Analysts say the major party's election losses in battleground regions, according to provisional results, could distinguish it as an opposition force at a time when most political parties are becoming subsumed under the ruling coalition.
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A local poll administrator shows an invalid ballot on Nov. 27, 2024, during the tabulation of votes cast in the 2024 Central Java gubernatorial election at a polling station in Semarang, Central Java. (Antara/Makna Zaezar)
The losses of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in some crucial battlegrounds in last week’s regional head elections signal the party’s need for new strategies, according to observers, which might influence how it positions itself with regard to the administration of President Prabowo Subianto.
The simultaneous regional head elections on Nov. 27 were seen as a comeback opportunity for the PDI-P to reassert its dominance in national politics after its candidate Ganjar Pranowo suffered a bruising defeat to Prabowo in February’s presidential race.
But the projected outcome of the regional elections indicate another setback for the country’s largest nationalist party, which is expected to book losses in the most populous provinces on Java, including its home turf Central Java.
The quick count results from various pollsters indicate that Andika Perkasa, the PDI-P’s gubernatorial candidate in Central Java, has been outperformed by rival ticket Ahmad Luthfi, who was backed by pro-Prabowo parties and endorsed by former president and PDI-P member Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
Political expert Yoes Kenawas said that while Jokowi’s campaigning for Luthfi played a major part in preventing the PDI-P’s Andika from winning the provincial race, the party needed to re-strategize for future elections.
“It needs to engage in self-reflection on its fading influence in Central Java,” Yoes said.
“The party must also rethink how to strengthen its ties with NU,” he added, referring to the nation’s largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, which remains influential in national politics, its membership largely concentrated in Central and East Java.
