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Fall, rise of nation's largest party

The PDI-P began its political journey in the country in 1973 under the name of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). It resulted from a merger of four parties led by the Indonesian National Party (PNI) — founded by Indonesia’s founding father and Megawati Soekarnoputri’s father Sukarno — following his downfall in the late 1960s.

Kharishar Kahfi (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta
Fri, August 9, 2019

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Fall, rise of nation's largest party The logo of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is displayed during the opening ceremony of the fifth PDI-P congress in Sanur, Bali, on Thursday. The congress is taking place from Aug. 8 to 11. (JP/Zul Trio Anggono )

T

he Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has been at the center of the country’s political scene ever since the 2014 general election, and it is likely to maintain — if not expand — its power for the next five years.

Backing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s current administration and recent reelection, the PDI-P is the winner of the 2019 legislative election, garnering 19.33 percent of the vote nationwide, which is more than the 18.95 percent it had won in the previous legislative race.

The party is now on course to get the House of Representatives’ speaker seat, and it is likely to secure more positions in Jokowi’s second-term Cabinet than any other party in the government coalition.

The PDI-P, which used to be a small opposition party during Soeharto’s New Order era, now has such a strong position that it has even confidently opened its doors for erstwhile opposition Gerindra Party to join the ruling camp — despite apparent reluctance from other members of the coalition.

The PDI-P began its political journey in the country in 1973 under the name of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). It resulted from a merger of four parties led by the Indonesian National Party (PNI) — founded by Indonesia’s founding father and Megawati Soekarnoputri’s father Sukarno — following his downfall in the late 1960s.

PDI members mostly comprised of the PNI at the time, and the party had large support bases in Central Java and East Java, provinces that until now remain the PDI-P’s major strongholds.

When Megawati was supposed to claim the party’s leadership following a congress in 1993, then-president Soeharto intervened and replaced her with Soerjadi, sparking an internal feud that led to an attack at the PDI headquarters in Central Jakarta that left dozens of members dead.

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  • Palmerat Barat No. 142-143
  • Central Jakarta
  • DKI Jakarta
  • Indonesia
  • 10270
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