Yenny Wahid Admits He Was Teased To Become A Candidate For Vice President

The daughter of the 5th President of the Republic of Indonesia Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), Yenny Wahid. (Instagram @yennywahid)

JAKARTA - Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) figure Yenny Wahid does not deny that a number of parties have approached him offering the position of potential vice presidential candidate (cawapres) for the 2024 presidential election.

"Certainly, if the name politics is definitely communication with all parties, not just one party, and it's no longer a secret if there are approaches, if there are communications," said the woman whose full name is Zannuba Ariffah Chafsoh at the Senayan Parliament Complex , Jakarta, Tuesday 8 August, confiscated by Antara.

The daughter of the 4th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid alias Gus Dur, also admitted that he was ready to run as a candidate for vice president in the 2024 presidential election contest.

"As someone who has been involved in politics for quite a long time, you must be prepared to occupy public office," he said.

Because, he said, any public position is the fastest tool to be able to make policies and positive changes in society.

"So if someone is already in the world of politics, of course, when there is momentum, when an opportunity is created, yes, you have to be willing, if indeed your goal is to work in the field of public policy. I also fall into that category, of course, you have to be ready. You have to be willing, You have to be prepared," he said.

Furthermore, Yenny admitted that she was in intense communication with potential figures as presidential candidates for the 2024 Presidential Election, one of which would be Anies Baswedan's Coalition for Change for Unity (KPP).

"I and Mr. Anies have a special closeness, because Mr. Anies became my rector, became one of the lecturers. I returned from taking my Masters in America, Mas Anies offered me at Paramadina, he was the rector at that time," he explained.

He also admitted that he also communicated intensely with prospective presidential candidates from the PDI Perjuangan Ganjar Pranowo to General Chair of the Gerindra Party Prabowo Subianto.

"Then I and Mas Ganjar, for example, are close as friends, because our communities are the same. Then my husband was also at UGM. So Mas Ganjar's friend, as well as our friend, became a playmate. Then with Mr. Prabowo, my husband used to be at Gerindra," he said.

Yenny also expressed her gratitude for the trust she had given to fill the bid for a vice presidential candidate, although on the other hand she realized that politics is dynamic.

"Thank you for the trust that has been given that I am considered to have the competence to be side by side with the presidential candidates, and of course politics in Indonesia is not static, it is still very dynamic to the extent that registration limits can change at any time," he said. .

In accordance with the KPU's schedule, the registration of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates will start from October 19 to November 25, 2023.

In Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections it is stated that the presidential/vice presidential candidate pair is proposed by a political party or a coalition of political parties participating in the election that meets the requirements of obtaining seats of at least 20 percent of the total seats in the DPR or 25 percent of the nationally valid votes in the previous election for members of the DPR.

Currently there are 575 seats in parliament so the presidential/vice presidential candidate pair in the 2024 Presidential Election must have the support of at least 115 seats from the Indonesian Parliament. Candidate pairs can also be nominated by political parties or a combination of political parties participating in the 2019 Election with a minimum total of 34,992,703 valid votes.