Indonesia’s General Election Commission clarifies Prabowo-Gibran presidential nomination amid Gibran’s PDIP cadre status

INDONESIA: The General Election Commission (KPU) did not raise any concerns regarding Gibran Rakabuming’s status as a cadre of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) when he was registered as a potential vice-presidential candidate alongside Prabowo Subianto.

It’s worth noting that the PDIP has already registered the Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD pair for the 2024 Presidential Election with the KPU.

KPU Chairman Hasyim Asy’ari clarified that the KPU’s role is to examine and verify the candidates’ eligibility based on specific requirements. Any concerns related to party affiliations or cadreship are beyond the scope of their examination.

Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, the Daily Chair of the Central Executive Board of the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), also emphasized that there are no rules prohibiting parties from nominating members from other parties.

They focus on adhering to the KPU’s registration requirements, which do not contain any provisions against nominating cadres from other parties.

On Wednesday (25 Oct), the Advanced Indonesia Coalition officially registered the Prabowo-Gibran pair as presidential-vice-presidential candidates with the KPU.

This coalition comprises several parties, including Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), the Party of Functional Group (Golkar), the Democratic Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Crescent Star Party (PBB), the Indonesian Republican Guard Party (Garuda), the Indonesian People’s Wave Party ( Gelora), the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) and the Adil Makmur People’s Party (Prima).

Despite his candidacy, Gibran Rakabuming, who is President Jokowi’s eldest son, still holds the status of a PDIP cadre. Meanwhile, PDIP is nominating another pair, namely Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD.

Prabowo, in a statement, expressed no objections to Gibran’s continued affiliation with the PDIP. He even mentioned that he would be content if Gibran remained a PDIP cadre, emphasizing that there are no issues in this regard.

Deddy Sitorus, a Member of the People’s Representative Council from the PDIP faction, confirmed that Gibran had not submitted a letter of resignation as a PDIP party cadre.

Thus, his cadre status remains unchanged.

Puan Maharani, an official representing PDIP, confirmed that she held a meeting with Gibran

Puan Maharani, Chairman of the PDIP Central Executive Board, openly acknowledged her meeting with the Mayor of Solo, Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

During their conversation, Gibran expressed his intention to run as Prabowo Subianto’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2024 presidential election.

This admission came in response to Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming’s registration as potential candidate pairs with the General Election Commission (KPU).

Puan shared details of their meeting, stating that they had discussions about this decision, and she expressed that there were no issues with it.

She mentioned that “Mr. Gibran said goodbye; he wants to be Mr. Prabowo’s vice-presidential candidate.” This exchange took place at the High End Building in Central Jakarta on Wednesday (25 Oct)

During their meeting, Puan clarified that there was no information about Gibran returning his PDIP Membership Card (KTA).

She further clarified that Gibran’s intent was solely to become Prabowo’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election.

As she put it, “Nothing, no return of KTA, nothing else, just saying goodbye to becoming Mr. Prabowo’s vice-presidential candidate.”

When asked about Gibran’s future within the Ganjar-Mahfud National Winning Team (TPN) structure, Puan explained that if Gibran officially assumes the role of Prabowo’s vice-presidential candidate, it would no longer be feasible for him to maintain a position within TPN.

However, regarding Gibran’s status as a PDIP cadre after registering himself as Prabowo’s vice-presidential candidate, Puan deferred to Gibran to provide further clarification on the matter.