JAKARTA: On Sunday, October 22, Indonesia’s presidential candidate and defense secretary Prabowo Subianto declared the eldest son of current president Joko Widodok as his running mate for the vote the following year.
Due to Jokowi’s enormous popularity, even in the midst of indignation this week over a judge decision to change an registration requirement that would have prevented Gibran from running, the selection of Gibrun Rakabuming Rka, 36, was become bolstering for Prabowo.
Speaking following a gathering of his party and its coalition partners, Prabowo announced at press conference that he had been nominated for president and Gibran Rakuming Raka as vice presidential candidate.
On February 14, the third-largest democracy in the world will hold simultaneous presidential and legislative elections, with nearly 205 million Indonesians — more than 270 million — eligible to cast ballots.
Prabowo, 72, has won the majority of opinion polls this season, including two this year, though only slightly more so than Ganjar Pranowo of the ruling party, a former governor of Central Java, and former Jakarta government Anies Baswedan.
On Thursday, the first day of membership for presidential hopefuls, Ganjar and Anies, both 54, had registered for the competition.
Democratic officials claim that Jokowi, who earlier appeared to possess backed Ganjar as the applicant of his Indian Democratic Party of Struggle( PDI – P ), is trying to maintain his influence and has been secretly marshalling support for past rival Prabowo despite his claims this week that he has no role in political candidates.
HELP BASE
President Jokowi responded that he will” leave it to the political parties’ alliance” when asked about the likelihood of his brother’s nomination earlier on Sunday. He also said that parents should pray for their kids and offer their blessings.
According to some analysts, the ally with Gibran had give Prabowo some of Jokowi’s support base, increasing the chances that the cheerful leader will be able to determine his own legacy by ensuring the completion of important financial programs he started.
The 36-year-old mayor of Surakarta, Gibran, sparked controversy after a major court’s decision altered the requirements for him to run for vice presidential office.
Democratic officials claim that Gibran’s election is a tactic used by Jokowi, as the outgoing president is more widely known, to maintain his position of power and that he has been secretly securing aid for Prabowo, whom the president defeated twice to win the presidency in 2014 and 2019.
The ruling PDI – P, of which the chair and Gibran are listed as individuals, made no immediate reply.
On Wednesday, which is the final moment for membership, Prabowo stated that he intends to record his election to the election committee.