PKS Doesn't Want to Give Up

JAKARTA - The Gibran Rakabuming Raka-Teguh Prakosa dominates the strength of political party support in the Solo Pilkada. How about the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS)?

PKS doesn't lose their hope. With less than a month, PKS still hopes for the "unexpected" about the coalition. The strong intention to bring up the challenger for the son of President Joko Widodo, requires PKS to find 4 additional seats. So, the support of the candidate will meet the minimum requirement of 9 seats in the Solo DPRD.

"We're trying to get a coalition against Gibran until the registration deadline for candidates on September 6. We will try first when the 6th is stuck, there is no gap. We'll think about the next way," said Sugeng Riyanto, Chairman of the DPD PKS Solo Election and Pilkada, Monday, August 10.

Even though it was tough, Sugeng emphasized that PKS Solo would not give up. The management in Solo also asked the central PKS elite to intervene to solve the impasse on the coalition map in the Solo Pilkada.

"Even though now (the coalition with PKS) seems closed, there could be opportunities for a coalition. The certain thing is looking for a challenger to Gibran," he said.

The dominance of the political parties that support Gibran for PKS is nothing more than a central "intervention". Reportedly, political parties that have seats on the council will support Gibran to secure the existence of political parties in the 2024 elections.

"The political parties in Solo at the central level have been locked up by Pak Jokowi. So, the impression is that they do not have the courage to fight against Mr. Jokowi's son. This is a problem,” he said.

The offense on the assessment of the lockdown of political parties also targets the National Mandate Party (PAN), which verbally expresses support for Gibran. Meanwhile, Gibran currently has a recommendation letter from the PDI-P, Gerindra, and PSI.

Sugeng thought that there was an anomaly between the grassroots desire and the political party's decision. However, according to Sugeng, the issue of political decision choices returned to the capital.

“PAN's voter base doesn't want to vote for Gibran, but in Solo, PAN chooses Gibran. Gerindra is the same (grassroots choice), but Gerindra Solo sticks to it,” he said.

The complexity of the exploration of this coalition "complained" by PKS Solo to the elite level. PKS Solo still wants a challenger to Gibran, without rushing to talk about the potential for an empty box.

"Empty box is valid. But it's odd in the political sense of a speaking contest that confronts two or more candidates to present the public with a choice. An empty box means that there is an odd democracy and the PKS is not willing to do so. So, we are trying to galvanize approaches to political parties who ask for political resistance. There shouldn't be an empty box," said Sugeng.