Former top members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) have thrown their support behind presidential candidates for the 2024 election, highlighting the strategic roles that powerful military figures play in Indonesian politics.

While political elites are currently scrambling to build coalitions in an attempt to find the winning pair for next year’s election, former TNI top brass have been selecting which front-runner to support.

Former TNI commander Andika Perkasa, for instance, has joined a list of potential figures to lead the campaign team of Ganjar Pranowo, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) presidential nominee. Andika, the son-in-law of former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief A.M. Hendropriyono, was also tapped as the strongest vice presidential candidate from the military, along with Democratic Party chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, who quit the army to enter politics.

Andika claimed to have campaigned for Ganjar before officially announcing his support for the white-haired politician at a PDI-P event in July. “I have personally expressed my support for Ganjar as I feel more drawn toward him,” he said after briefing Ganjar’s campaigners in Jakarta, as quoted by Antara.

In addition to Andika, 10 other former TNI top brass have thrown their support behind Ganjar, including former National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Lt. Gen. (ret) Ganip Warsito, former navy chief of staff Adm. (ret) Bernard Kent Sondakh and former air force chief of staff air chief marshal (ret) Agus Supriatna.

Prabowo Subianto, the only prospective presidential candidate with a military background, has garnered the support of former TNI commander Wiranto and former commander of the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) Muchdi Purwoprandjono. It is worth nothing that both Wiranto and Muchdi backed Prabowo’s rival, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, in the 2019 election, signalling a significant shift in the political landscape among former military generals.

Andika’s move to back Ganjar and Muchdi’s decision to support Prabowo have sparked speculations about Hendropriyono’s stance on the election. Andika is the son-in-law of the former BIN chief, while Muchdi was his deputy while he served in the intelligence body.

While Hendropriyono has forged a close relationship with former PDI-P matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri since the end of the New Order regime and may therefore follow his son-in-law’s decision to back Ganjar, the former intelligence chief is also close to Jokowi, who is reportedly rooting for his defense minister, Prabowo, in a clear attempt to challenge Megawati’s role as kingmaker in 2024.

"Even though he has a close relationship with Jokowi, it is possible that he might try to endorse his son-in-law as Ganjar's vice presidential candidate," said Faishal Amunuddin, a political scientist at Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java.

Anies Baswedan is now on the verge of losing support from former president and Democratic Party chief patron Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a United States-educated military general, after NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh unilaterally paired the former Jakarta governor with National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar. Paloh’s decision angered Yudhoyono’s party, which was hoping to get the VP slot for Agus.

Despite this, some military figures will still likely join the Anies campaign. The retired TNI members who have declared support for Anies include former special staffer at the army chief of staff office Lt. Gen. (ret) Ediwan Prabowo, former commander of the Navy Staff and Command School Vice Adm. (ret) Dedi Muhibah Pribadi and former National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) head Marshal (ret) Muhammad Syaugi.

The role of the military in Indonesian politics can be traced back to the Sukarno era, when the first president appointed several military figures to his new cabinet under his Guided Democracy reign in July 1959. Under Soeharto, the military was granted a dwifungsi (dual role), which enabled military officers to be involved in all aspects of civilian life. Soeharto, who was also an Army general, solidified and sustained his power by creating an inner circle of people with military backgrounds.

In the democratic framework of the reform era, military figures are seen as important elements of campaign teams as many are senior bureaucrats with managerial skills that could formulate effective campaign strategies, according to National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) political analyst Muhamad Haripin 

"They still have connections they built during their assignment in military bases to gather and secure votes for presidential candidates," Faishal said. (ahw)

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