November 21, 2023
JAKARTA – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is reportedly seeking to work with the camp of opposition figurehead Anies Baswedan to combat what the party claims is “pressure” against its own presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo.
PDI-P secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto said in a statement on Saturday that campaigners for the party’s presidential and vice presidential pair, Ganjar and Mahfud MD, had begun to feel “pressure” from intimidation tactics.
While he did not mention how exactly members of the campaign team or figures associated with Ganjar had been pressured, he cited himself and fellow PDI-P politician Adian Napitupulu as people who allegedly had been subject to intimidation tactics. Other names were Yunarto Wijaya of pollster Charta Politika and social media influencer and Ganjar campaigner Ulin Ni’am Yusron.
“The pressure is there, and we know it’s related [to the 2024 general election]. Since we know that even the Constitutional Court can be intervened in, despite it being a judicial institution, other [state institutions] could be too,” Hasto said.
He was referring to a scandal at the Constitutional Court, in which its chief justice Anwar Usman was found guilty of an ethics breach for using his position to clear a path for his nephew-in-law Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run for vice president. Gibran is the eldest son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and is now the running mate of Gerindra Party presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, a rival to the PDI-P.
Hasto said the PDI-P had been speaking with the campaign team of Anies, who Hasto claimed had been experiencing similar pressure and intimidation tactics.
“This is so that we can correct democracy to be [on the right track]. Democracy rests with the people who make the decisions, not the elite, and this is the narrative we must build for the future,” Hasto added.
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Anies, however, said on Sunday that he had not been communicating with the PDI-P on the matter.
“I don’t have any [communication] with the PDI-P,” Anies said, as quoted by Kompas.com. “If we have to [run for office] under pressure, so be it, because the pressure we are facing is much less than the burden the public is feeling.”
His running mate, National Awakening Party (PKB) chair Muhaimin Iskandar, also denied that the campaign had been in contact with the PDI-P but said that his party would be open to the possibility of forging closer communication.
State meddling?
With President Jokowi having a stake in the 2024 general election because of his eldest son’s VP candidacy, some observers and election contenders, particularly politicians from the camps supporting Anies and Ganjar, have voiced concern that state apparatus could side with the Prabowo-Gibran pair.
Jokowi has said he is politically neutral and that the coming elections will be “very open, so that anyone – the public, the media and others – can monitor them”.
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Lawmakers have formed internal committees charged with ensuring that the police and military remain impartial in next year’s elections.
In addition, a village head group called Desa Bersatu (Villages United), held an event on Sunday that many saw as an attempt to marshal support for the Prabowo-Gibran ticket.
According to various news reports, a number of village heads who participated in the Sunday event shouted expressions of support for Prabowo throughout the day. Gibran was reportedly spotted at the event along with several members of his campaign team.
While the event fell short of delivering an official declaration, pictures of the invitation sent out to the media showed that it had initially been titled “the national declaration for an onward Indonesia” – also a reference to Prabowo’s electoral alliance, the Onward Indonesia Coalition.
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Under the 2017 General Elections Law, village heads are forbidden to join electoral campaigns or to take action for the benefit of certain candidates during the election season.
The campaign season will officially start on Nov. 28, but all three candidate pairs have been touring the country since they were deemed eligible to run.
National coordinator for the Desa Bersatu coalition, Muhammad Asri Anas, has denied allegations that Sunday’s event was part of a campaign strategy for the Prabowo-Gibran pair.
“But can [village chief] organizations convey their aspirations to a presidential candidate? Of course we can,” Asri said on Sunday, as quoted by Kompas.com.