Looking For Presidential Candidates In 2024, NasDem Is Still 'Monitoring' Anies Baswedan

JAKARTA - Political observer Andriadi Achmad assesses that DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has the opportunity to be nominated by the NasDem Party as a presidential candidate in the 2024 presidential election. Moreover, the former Minister of Education and Culture's electability continues to increase.

"Anies Baswedan is one of the candidates on the NasDem radar to become a presidential candidate. Considering that the party's electoral status must increase," said Andriadi when contacted by VOI, Friday, March 26.

Especially in July 2019, there was a meeting between Anies Baswedan and NasDem Ketum Surya Paloh at the NasDem Party DPP office, Menteng, Central Jakarta.

In fact, Surya Paloh said the meeting with Anies was a meeting between brothers and sisters.

The intimacy between the two even continued until before the 2019 Presidential Election. Anies was invited to the NasDem Congress and was said to be discussing the issue of the 2024 Election.

"At that time there was a meeting between Anies Baswedan and Surya Paloh. If I look at Nasdem, he is looking for a figure, because it is impossible for him to nominate Surya Paloh," explained the observer from Bengkulu.

Indeed, he continued, the NasDem icon is Surya Paloh, but usually looking for figures who can be appointed to become regional heads or / or candidates in the presidential election. So that it can have an impact on the electoral vote of NasDem in the future.

"For example, in 2014 and 2019 he (NasDem.red) immediately declared his support for Jokowi. From the start, before other parties supported him, it was already," said the Executive Director of the Political Communication Studies and Research Center (PolCom SRC).

"In 2014, NasDem was only in parliament. It had an electoral impact, as well as 2019 other parties have not declared, he has declared first to support Jokowi and then others will join. That also affects his electoral vote," added Andriadi.

According to him, if you reflect on the 2014 and 2019 elections, NasDem is exploring who can raise the party's electoral level. Who is the highest, this figure will be nominated as a presidential candidate in 2024.

Moreover, if Anies' electability increases, it is not impossible for NasDem to have the courage to declare the Governor of DKI earlier as the candidate for president.

"I think from 2021 to 2022 he has already declared who will be nominated in the 2021 presidential election," said Andriadi.

However, NasDem could support other candidates whose electability was higher than Anies. For example, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil or Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo.

"But NasDem apart from Anies, he was lyrics Ridwan Kamil and Ganjar Pranowo. But he saw where the tendency was high in electability. He only had that pattern," he said.