Indonesia 2024 election: Ganjar has Jokowi’s vote, but will Prabowo be his vice-president?
- Political observers believe Widodo is persuading Ganjar Pranowo and Prabowo Subianto to run on the same ticket for his PDI-P party
- The pairing is likely to be a ‘winning’ one, analysts say, but it will require Prabowo, who has been eyeing the top job for two decades, to agree to be a No 2
The blusukan, or a direct meeting with constituents, fuelled speculation Widodo may have persuaded the duo to run on the same ticket in the 2024 presidential election, with one of the men having to put aside their presidential aspirations – which for Prabowo dates back almost two decades.
The conjecture follows a recent report by leading Indonesian newspaper Kompas, which quoted an unnamed source in the State Palace as saying Widodo recommended the pairing to his political party, PDI-P. The proposal was likely brought up when Widodo met party chairwoman and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, on March 18.
Over their three-hour meeting, Widodo expressed concern about the future of his policy programmes. At the end, the two politicians had “come to the same understanding” on which names would appear on the party’s ticket next year, PDI-P secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto told reporters at that time. Megawati is expected to announce her decision in June.
Ganjar has emerged as the consistent front-runner in public opinion polls in the past year, while Prabowo has been second or third, coming neck and neck with former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, who is expected to run as an opposition party presidential nominee.
A survey released by Jakarta-based pollster Indikator Politik on Sunday showed that 36.8 per cent of 1,200 respondents would vote for Ganjar if elections were held now. Prabowo was second with 27 per cent, followed by Anies at 26.8 per cent.
Widodo’s second and final term will come to an end next year. He is barred by the constitution from seeking a third.
