IDNAround – The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) has nominated Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo as their candidate for the 2024 presidential election although he is not a member of the party.
The PSI cannot propose a candidate for not having a seat in the House of Representatives but it has millions of voters across the country that could prove crucial in a presidential election system whose winner is decided by the most popular votes.
PSI Chairwoman Grace Natalie told a video conference on Monday that Ganjar, a top politician from the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), came out as the most favorite candidate after her party’s officials from all regional chapters met with many prominent people to hear their recommendation.
During the 2019 election, the PSI was a staunch supporter of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s reelection and their support continued until today.
“The PSI sees Brother Ganjar as the most capable person in continuing all the works that Mr. Jokowi has been doing to make Indonesia a great nation,” Grace said.
“Although Brother Ganjar is not a member of our party, it is the PSI commitment to support the best candidate and hopefully he is also the best choice of the people for Indonesia.”
Grace added that Ganjar’s candidacy was a result of consultations with various elements in the country — not decided by the party’s elite.
Ganjar has been on the top among nine potential candidates since the discussions began in February and he also shares the PSI’s commitment to pluralism and nation-building, she said.
In addition, the governor well understands the aspiration of the youth, the group in the demography that becomes PSI’s main support base, Grace added.
The PSI got around 3 million votes in the 2019 legislative election but failed to reach 4 percent of overall popular votes as the threshold to win a House seat.
In several cities like Jakarta and Medan, the PSI managed to put their representatives in the local legislative council.
Grace said the party also picked the late President Abdurrahman Wahid’s daughter Zannuba Ariffah Chafsoh Wahid, also known as Yenny Wahid, as a running mate for Ganjar.
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