Golkar Denies Supporting Prabowo Because Airlangga Is Difficult To Become A Presidential Candidate

The chairmans of the coalition political parties together will be Prabowo Subianto/PHOTO presidential candidates via Instagram @airlanggahartarto_official

JAKARTA - Secretary General of the Golkar Party Lodewijk F. Paulus denied the assumption that his party's decision to support Prabowo Subianto was due to the General Chair, Airlangga Hartarto, having difficulty becoming a presidential candidate (candidate).

Lodewijk emphasized that the decision was based on considerations and mutual agreement on existing political dynamics.

"It's not that problem, it's not Pak Airlangga's problem whether it's difficult to become president or not. Of course there is a political reality that we have to take into account yesterday until we finally make a decision like that (supporting Prabowo, ed)," said Lodewijk, Tuesday, August 15.

Lodewijk said that his party had not yet proposed Airlangga as a vice presidential candidate to accompany Prabowo to political parties that were members of the coalition. According to him, the question of the name of the vice president must be discussed together with the chairman of the Gerindra, PKB and PAN parties.

"But we have a mandate from the National Conference to Mr. Airlangga to determine who the presidential candidate is. We'll just have to wait for the next developments," he said.

Moreover, he continued, each party also proposed a name to come forward to accompany Prabowo in the upcoming 2024 General Election.

"Of course, the heads of these coalition parties have their respective candidates. We have a vice presidential candidate in this case, Mr. Airlangga Hartarto, then PAN nominates Erick Thohir, PKB nominates Cak Imin, so each," said Lodewijk.

"Well, these are just the discourses conveyed that are the decisions of each party. To discuss how the results are, these general chairmen will of course talk to Pak Prabowo," he continued.

Previously, former chairman of the Golkar Party,Jusuf Kallaalias JK, said that political reality now makes it difficult for Golkar to get support from other political parties to jointly support Airlangga Hartarto's candidacy.

Although, he said, the decision of the 2019 Golkar Party national deliberation (munas) decided that the general chairman Airlangga Hartarto would become a presidential candidate in the 2014 presidential election.

"Yes, it is difficult. The Golkar people also see the reality," said JK.

Even so, the former vice president respects the political choices of his party that support the presidential election of Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto in the 2024 presidential election.

JK explained that after all, Golkar itself could not nominate the president and vice president (candidates) because it had not complied with the presidential threshold of 20 percent, inevitably Golkar had to form a coalition with other political parties to achieve the presidential threshold.

"Yes, each party needs to form a coalition. Yes, of course we respect this, it's just a matter of how technically they carry out the next process," he said.