INDONESIA: On Wednesday, Indonesia’s ruling party announced that the senior cabinet minister, known for their respected reputation, would be the running mate for their presidential candidate. Meanwhile, influential political figures are solidifying their alliances in preparation for the 2024 election registration deadline.
The world’s third-largest democracy will hold elections in February to succeed President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, who has been in office for the maximum two terms permitted.
Megawati Sukarnoputri, the leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), announced that Ganjar Pranowo, their presidential candidate, will collaborate with Mahfud MD, the chief security minister.
At a PDI-P event in Jakarta’s capital, she remarked, “He could be a good referee amid political and business competitions that often feel unfair.”
66-year-old Mahfud MD, former chief justice of the Constitutional Court, who has close ties to Megawati, as political sources say, is a verbal critic of corruption. While his full name is Mohammad Mahfud Mahmodin, he has been commonly recognised as Mahfud MD for many decades.
Jokowi, a member of the PDI-P who has a strained relationship with Megawati, was absent from the party event as he is currently attending a conference in China.
Opinion polls indicate a close race between Ganjar, the former governor of Central Java province, and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, aged 72, who is making his third attempt at the presidency after narrowly losing to Jokowi in both 2014 and 2019.
While Prabowo has not yet revealed his running mate, there has been speculation that he might choose Jokowi’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, particularly after a recent court ruling on eligibility criteria that paves the way for the 36-year-old to run in the 2024 election.
On Wednesday, several prominent political parties were slated to convene meetings, one day ahead of the deadline for candidates and their running mates to register and unveil their policy agendas to the election commission. The registration window is set to close on October 25.
Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan is also in the presidential race, but he is lagging behind in surveys.
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