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Jokowi supporters hint at Ganjar backing
This has led to speculation that Jokowi was referring to fellow Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician and popular Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, who was also present.
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resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo told his supporters during a rally over the weekend to “be patient” and that he remained focused on handling national health and economic issues as the country approaches the 2024 presidential election. But the President also hinted that he might direct his supporter groups to back a particular presidential hopeful.
The event on Saturday was held in Magelang, Central Java, by Jokowi’s supporter group Projo, which has backed Jokowi since before his first-term presidency, and was attended by hordes of his supporters.
Projo recently was vocal in supporting proposals looking to extend Jokowi's term past its constitutionally mandated date or delay the 2024 general election, before a series of student-led protests last month appeared to put an end to all term-extension talk.
While loud calls from Projo members hoping for an extension to Jokowi’s term could be heard throughout the event, the President urged the supporter group to not rush into declaring which prospective candidates they would endorse for the 2024 race because the current political landscape still had many uncertainties.
“Don't be in a hurry. Because [in] the current political dynamics, it’s still unclear which party will nominate [which] candidate,” Jokowi said during his speech on Saturday.
Aside from political uncertainty, Jokowi said that the government was still focusing on guiding the country through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Because of the pandemic, we had two years of uncertainty, not just in Indonesia, but all over the world. Now that the pandemic is almost over, we have the [Russia-Ukraine] war,” he said, adding that the government is also trying to keep surging prices for basic commodities in check.
Jokowi called on his supporters to be patient while the government was handling these issues, but also promised that he would consult his supporter group before making a political move leading to the 2024 election.
“And, speaking about politics, let's not be hasty […] even though maybe the one we support [in the coming election] is actually here,” Jokowi added.
His supporters responded with cheers of support.
This has led to speculation that Jokowi was referring to fellow Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician and popular Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, who was also present. In a YouTube recording of the event, some people could be heard shouting Ganjar's name when Jokowi was about to make the speech.
“Jokowi's comments were clearly directed toward Ganjar, since he was the only prospective candidate in many opinion polls that came to the event," political analyst Adi Prayitno said on Sunday.
Adi read Jokowi's gesture as fulfilling two purposes: to keep his supporters close and ready to be mobilized should there be a chance to extend his second and final presidential term, and to indicate to his supporters that they should support Ganjar if Jokowi's term ends as scheduled in 2024.
“Jokowi knows full well the importance of keeping his volunteers at hand, since they were also responsible for Jokowi’s election win in 2014. He was telling them to wait because he would likely follow it up with a political instruction soon,” Adi said.
Ganjar has consistently been among the three most electable potential candidates in many opinion polls, along with two-time presidential candidate from Gerindra and now Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and another popular governor, Anies Baswedan in Jakarta, who still has no party affiliation to date.
But PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri reportedly has reservations about nominating Ganjar, and could choose her daughter Puan Maharani instead.
Over the past year, the PDI-P – the only party that can nominate a presidential candidate without forming a coalition – and Gerindra have hinted at the possibility of pairing Prabowo and Puan, whose rock-bottom electability rating drags down their combined figure.
Responding to the speculation that stemmed from Jokowi's remarks, Ganjar warned against making hasty conclusions.
"Don't be hasty in associating someone [with the President's remarks]. [He] did not mention my name], let's not be overconfident," he said on Sunday evening, as quoted by kompas.com.
Analysts have said that the coalition-building for the coming election is likely to center around the three most popular hopefuls of Prabowo, Ganjar and Anies, with some experts saying that the 2024 election is shaping up to be a three-horse race.
The most recent poll by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) found three possible coalitions that could be formed, a Gerindra-PDI-P axis with Prabowo as its candidate; a NasDem Party-Democratic Party axis that would give the ticket to Anies; and a Golkar led-alliance that would try to pair chairman Airlangga Sutarto with Ganjar.
