A party executive revealed the plan on Wednesday.

“This may still change, but NasDem has a time limit. By November, we will have the name [of our presidential candidate] and a coalition package,” Willy Aditya, the head of the party’s central board, told reporters in Jakarta.

Even as a constant member of President Jokowi’s big-tent coalition over two terms, NasDem has been telegraphing a potential break from the status quo by intensively talking to the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the two members of the current opposition circle.

However, Willy was quick to mention that the possibility of other political alignments was very much open, as there was still no commitment from the three parties to forge an alliance for the 2024 general election.

“NasDem is open to communication with others, and it is just as true the other way around. Everyone is communicating with everyone else. What guarantee is there [that a coalition will] take off?” he said. “There’s not even a captain to rally around yet.”

In June, NasDem announced that it would nominate either Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo or Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Andika Perkasa as potential presidential candidates – even though none of them were political party flag bearers.

However, it was made clear at the time that the final say rested with party patron Surya Paloh. Surya had said the three names were recommendations from the party’s members and that as chairman, it was his duty to seek out someone who would have a strong commitment to the party.

Non-members welcome

NasDem’s actions are consistent with the role it played in the 2014 presidential elections, when it backed Jokowi – a relative newcomer – for the country’s top office. And while nominating a non-political party candidate could risk giving away a presidential ticket to someone not loyal to the backing parties, political analysts are convinced this would not be the case for NasDem.

“Nominating non-political party cadres into positions of public office has been a typical NasDem political experiment,” said Adi Prayitno, a political analyst from Parameter Politik, to The Jakarta Post.

He noted that the party had been relying on an understanding with potential candidates that a “moral commitment” must be maintained even if the nominee comes from outside of the party’s ranks.

Asked whether the party would seek to persuade candidates to join its ranks, NasDem deputy chairman Ahmad Ali said on Tuesday his party did “not have the slightest intention” to suggest that any of its potential candidates become card-carrying members.

“Our view is that it is not wise to think that only political parties were given a mandate by the state to nominate a presidential candidate, to think that the party’s cadres are the best or most worthy to lead,” Ahmad said on Tuesday.

“NasDem has always held the view that all of the nation’s children, from all community groups, have the same right to lead this country,” he added.

Anies factor

With control of just 10 percent of seats in the House of Representatives, NasDem must ally with other parties to nominate a candidate in the 2024 elections. Prevailing regulations require that a political party or coalition of political parties must have won at least 25 percent of the vote in the last election – 2019 in this case – or hold 115 of the 575 seats in the House, roughly 20 percent, to nominate a candidate for the presidency.

NasDem has approached opposition and pro-government parties alike for potential alliances in 2024. While there is still no formal agreement with the Democrats or PKS, the parties appear united by their apparent inclination to nominate Anies for the presidency.

Political surveys have consistently shown Anies as among the most popular presidential hopefuls, behind only Ganjar and Gerindra Party patron Prabowo Subianto. Jokowi is reportedly considering giving one of the latter two his endorsement.

A recent poll by the Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that, among young voters, if the choice was restricted to the three most popular prospective candidates, 25.7 preferred Prabowo, 27.5 preferred Anies and 33.3 percent preferred Ganjar.

Anies, however, is considered the wildcard of the group, having no direct affiliation with any political party while at the same time commanding wide popular support.

The former education minister, who will step down as Jakarta governor next month, has publicly expressed his openness to running in the race.

“If [a party decides] to nominate me, I'll take it as a call of duty. I will do it," he said in an interview with the Post on Sept. 9.

Meanwhile, Parameter Politik’s Adi suggested that NasDem did not necessarily agree with the PKS or the Democrats on the final candidate pairing, which he said was probably the reason for the November announcement.

The Democratic Party’s insistence on having chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono on the ticket as a running mate, he said, could be the source of disagreement.

“NasDem isn’t necessarily warming up to the idea of running alongside Agus,” Adi said.

Willy of NasDem said the party did not want to rush the ongoing coalition talks because the party wanted an alliance based on chemistry, noting that the collaboration with PKS and the Democrats was “a novelty”.