The Garuda Party officially supports the state ideology of Pancasila.

The party says it aims to be a catalyst for change in the country, realize the national aspirations outlined in the 1945 Constitution, establish a just and prosperous democratic society, promote popular sovereignty through democracy, uphold truth and the law and achieve a fair economy for all.

The Garuda Party, formerly known as the National People's Party (PKN), traces its origins back to the late Harmoko, a prominent minister and Golkar chairman under the New Order.

The PKN was founded on Nov. 30, 2007, and gained state approval on April 5, 2008.

Despite aspirations to participate in the 2009 elections, administrative hurdles kept the PKN out of the contest.

On April 3, 2015, the PKN rebranded as the Garuda Party during a congress at the Gren Alia Hotel in Cikini, Jakarta. The move allowed it to bypass certain verification requirements.

The rebranding included changes of leadership, with Ahmad Ridha Sabana replacing Soebiantoro Soemantoro as the party’s chair.

On Sept. 2, 2015, the leadership changes were approved by the Law and Human Rights Ministry. 

In preparation for the 2019 elections, the Garuda Party registered with the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Oct. 15, 2017. The party claimed to have representation at 98 percent of state administrative levels and approximately 400,000 members. 

However, it and the Berkarya Party were disqualified in the KPU’s administrative review. Both parties filed complaints against the decision with the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu). 

On Dec. 23, 2017, the Garuda Party won its petition. It was then approved in a second KPU review and became one of the 14 parties eligible to contest the 2019 elections.

But the party failed to win any seats in the House of Representatives in the 2019 legislative election.

As the Garuda Party is not represented in the House, it has no voting record on key national policies.

So far, no Garuda members have been involved in corruption.

^* Information courtesy of BijakMemilih.id