January 10, 2023
JAKARTA – House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani said on Monday that chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Soekarnoputri had made up her mind on who would be the party’s candidate for the 2024 presidential election and would make it public as scheduled.
“The party chairman has arrived at the decision and we are all just waiting for the announcement. We all have to follow the party chairman’s decision to back this candidate and deliver victory in the general election,” Puan said as quoted by Antara on Monday.
Puan, the daughter of Megawati, said that the party leadership would make the best decision based on the electability of the candidate.
“So please, don’t allow yourself to be confused considering which has the highest electability ratings or that this candidate will pair better with that candidate. Just wait for the announcement,” Puan said.
Speculation was rife that Megawati would make the announcement on PDI-P’s pick for the presidential ticket on Jan. 10 tomorrow, when she was scheduled to make a big speech to celebrate the party’s 50th anniversary in Central Jakarta.
As Megawati is weighing her option, the latest opinion poll from the Jakarta-based pollster Indicator Politik showed that Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo continued maintaining his lead.
Ganjar saw his electability rise to 32.8 percent in December, up from 30.8 percent in the previous month, while Puan, his rival for the party nomination, remained at the bottom rank in the same month with 1.9 percent.
Ganjar’s rising electability coincided with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s improvement in his approval rating in the same month to 71.3 percent, his highest since August, bolstered by the public’s positive perception of Indonesia’s hosting of the Group of 20 Summit.
President Jokowi is expected to join Megawati during the anniversary celebration on Tuesday.