Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto (left, front row) and running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka wave to their supporters on Feb 14, 2024 at the Senayan Sports Hall in Jakarta. - Antara
JAKARTA: Vice-president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka gave on Monday (March 25) the first indication that he and president-elect Prabowo Subianto are in talks over the formation of their new cabinet, marking the start of a period of lobbying and political self-parading to secure seats in government.
Gibran, who is expected to represent his father President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo’s interests once he steps down in October, had preferred to stay out of the limelight in the aftermath of their landslide election win that the General Elections Commission (KPU) confirmed last week.
The pair snatched an unassailable victory in the Feb 14 presidential race, having secured a whopping 96.2 million votes, equal to 58.6 per cent of all total ballots cast.
The rival camps of Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD, who trailed behind with 41 million and 27 million votes, respectively, are both in the midst of challenging the election returns with an eye on a revote, based on allegations of widespread election fraud, misuse of authority and other unsavoury tactics.
But that has not stopped Defence Minister Prabowo and Surakarta Mayor Gibran from discussing who gets to join their government later this year, should the decision stand.
The pair had apparently started talking about cabinet composition during closed-door talks in Jakarta on Friday, Gibran revealed to journalists on Monday.
"We talked about a lot of things, including the new cabinet and [the option to involve] political parties outside of our coalition," Gibran was quoted by Tempo.co as saying.
The winning presidential ticket was backed by a nine-party alliance, mirroring the successful strategy that President Jokowi had employed throughout his second term in office. From this grand coalition, however, only four have managed to win enough votes to enter the legislature.
As Prabowo-Gibran’s main backers, Golkar, the Gerindra Party, the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) are in a privileged position to gain access to cabinet seats in the next government, analysts have said. The more seats they secure in the legislative election, the more ministerial posts they are likely to get.
The KPU has announced the final number of votes distributed across all participating parties, but is only expected to announce the distribution of the 580 House of Representatives seats sometime in May, pending ongoing legislative election disputes at the Constitutional Court.
Among the parties of the Onward Indonesia Coalition, Golkar stands to receive the most ministerial posts in the next government. It was the second-most popular party among voters, securing 23.2 million votes, around 15.3 per cent of all ballots cast.
Golkar chairman Airlangga Hartarto initially said his party should receive five seats in the new cabinet, based on claims that nearly half of the votes for Prabowo-Gibran came from Golkar supporters.
However, the Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister backtracked and suggested instead that cabinet appointments are the prerogative of the president-elect. Prabowo’s own Gerindra is also poised to take a prominent place in the next government, having placed third in the election with around 20 million votes.
PAN and the Democrats, meanwhile, have also expressed their hopes of securing several ministerial posts. However, both have refrained from publicly revealing their demands.
The Democrats and PAN placed last among the eight parties eligible to send their lawmakers to the House, with 11.2 million and 10.9 million votes, 7.4 and 7.2 per cent of the vote, respectively.
Democratic Party chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono said on Saturday that he was relieved the party chose the right side to support this time around, otherwise they would have experienced “utter destruction”.
While the Prabowo-Gibran camp may have made a clean sweep in the presidential race, their objective of gaining a foothold at the House looks likely to be achieved through other means.
Ahmad Muzani, deputy chairman of Prabowo’s campaign team, recently said that the president-elect is seeking to build a big-tent coalition to ensure a stable government. The four parties backing Prabowo have only secured around 43 per cent of the total estimated seats at the House, potentially posing a challenge for the incoming government’s future policies.
The winning Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which backed the Ganjar-Mahfud ticket, has so far expressed a desire to go into opposition after being the largest party in the ruling coalition for the past 10 years. It received more than 25.8 million votes, 16.36 per cent, according to KPU data.
Meanwhile, other opposition parties have seemingly warmed to the prospect of joining the next government.
Prabowo visited NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh last week, after which Prabowo reiterated the need for post-election unity “for the sake of the nation”. Although Surya backed Anies in the presidential race, he was quick to congratulate Prabowo on his victory after the KPU announced the results on March 20.
Politicians from the National Development Party (PKB), which also backed Anies, have said the party is open to communicating with Prabowo. That leaves the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which previously sided with Prabowo during the 2014 election.
Wasisto Raharjo Jati, a political analyst at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), suggested that Prabowo’s cabinet composition will likely reflect the results of the legislative election.
"Golkar and Gerindra will receive the most seats, while parties that failed to make it to the House [...] will likely only receive deputy minister spots," Wasisto told The Jakarta Post on Monday. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
