Avoid Polarization, PKS Is Ready To Fight For The Emergence Of More Than 2 Presidential Candidates For The 2024 Presidential Election

PKS Secretary General Aboe Bakar Alhabsyi (Photo via Antara)

JAKARTA - The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) will fight for the emergence of more than two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates in the 2024 presidential election to prevent polarization.

"PKS is fighting for more than two pairs of candidates in the upcoming presidential election. This is to avoid national polarization. We don't want division," said PKS Secretary General Aboe Bakar Alhabsyi when he was a resource person in a webinar entitled "Political Party Reform: Strengthening its Role as the Main Pillar of Democracy", as monitored on the YouTube channel of FISIP UMJ, in Jakarta, Thursday 30 June.

Since celebrating the 20th Anniversary of PKS, this party has started to build political communication with various political parties, such as through lobbying a number of political parties (political parties) and facilitating matchmaking between political parties in carrying out presidential candidates (candidates).

According to Aboe, the struggle to present more than two pairs of candidates in the 2024 presidential election is also a manifestation of PKS' efforts to carry out one of the roles of political parties, namely the role as a means of regulating conflict.

"Since now (to present more than two presidential and vice presidential candidates), we have been lobbying (with political parties), it's still ongoing, it's still taking a long time. At least, it's still a year and a half. This is actually part of the role of political parties as conflict regulator," he said.

In its role as a means of regulating conflict, political parties should overcome various problems that exist in the midst of a democratic atmosphere, such as preventing polarization in political contestation, through various approaches and methods.

Aboe views the strengthening of the role of political parties in democracy ahead of the presidential election, one of which can indeed be done by increasing the number of presidential candidates.

"In short, it can be said, in the current context, strengthening the role of political parties in democracy ahead of the presidential election can be done by increasing the number of presidential candidates who contest in the 2024 election," he said.

Then related to the figure of the presidential candidate being promoted, Aboe considered that the party being promoted should indeed come from an internal party. Even so, it is not a dead value.

"This is not a dead value because we have to find common ground with other political parties by building a coalition. If the political reality brings together presidential candidates from 2 political parties, this will be an added value," he said.