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View all search resultsJokowi sets sights on PSI rise in 2029 elections
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Former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (second left) greets Indonesian Solidarity Party’s (PSI) supporters and members on Saturday at the party's regional meeting in Bandar Lampung, Lampung. (Antara/Ardiansyah)
F
ormer president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has thrown his weight behind his youngest son’s Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) during his first nationwide political tour since leaving office, in what analysts see as early groundwork for the party in the 2029 legislative and presidential elections.
Jokowi kicked off on Friday his most visible political outreach since leaving the presidency nearly two years ago, with a three-day visit to Lampung, one of his traditional strongholds, where he, dressed in a white shirt bearing the PSI logo, met ordinary Indonesians and attended party events.
Speaking on Saturday at the PSI regional meeting in Bandar Lampung, Jokowi expressed optimism that the small party could secure a place in the House of Representatives if the PSI maintains what he described as “consistent grassroots work”.
“Entering [the House] is, God willing, achievable [...]. If everyone works hard, I believe the PSI can become a major political party,” he said, adding that the PSI’s success depends on building a strong party structure down to the village level and ensuring it functions as a “living political machine” that actively engages local communities.
The PSI, a relatively young party which Jokowi’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep chairs and which the former president backs as a patron, won only 2.8 percent of the national vote in the last legislative election, well below the 4-percent threshold needed to gain seats in the House.
According to a PSI statement, Jokowi said the party aimed not only to send representatives to the House in the next legislative election but also to win a significant number of seats. But he did not provide further details, describing them as internal party matters.
Jokowi’s political tour is widely seen as an effort to reinforce support for the PSI while also strengthening the political position of his eldest son Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, whose reelection prospects have drawn pushback from other pro-government parties in President Prabowo Subianto’s coalition. Jokowi has reportedly been planning to tour two other provinces sometime after the Lampung visit.
