Megawati Soekarnoputri
STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT. Chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) Megawati Soekarno Putri is still reluctant to divulge the figure of a presidential candidate who will be promoted by PDIP in the 2024 General Election. When giving a speech at the PDIP 50th Anniversary event at JI Expo Kemayoran on January 10, 2023, Megawati only advised that she should continue to work hard to win the election again.
“Just be patient, work, go down to win, win, win. Don’t think about it, the business of the candidate is the right of the general chairman. It’s impossible for me to send you guys to the well. If we work, we will win,” he said in front of 10 thousand PDIP cadres who were present at Kemayoran.
According to Megawati, the key to victory is quite simple. The most important thing is to go directly to the people. Communicate and hear directly the complaints of the people. Create a good emotional bond. These are the officials the people aspire to.
“Twice already, don’t you have three times,” Megawati continued.
He warned that PDIP cadres should care about the people. If you enter PDIP only for material purposes and get power, it is better to go out.
“If the goal is that, sorry with all due respect to withdrawing from the PDI-P, there is no use,” he said.
Are you ready to win a third time? Ready? Independence, independence, greetings Pancasila,” added Megawati.
A political observer from the University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Hafid Adim Pradana, assessed that Megawati was very careful in deciding a number of matters related to the 2024 General Election, including the figure of a presidential candidate. He did not want to rush to determine whether Ganjar Pranowo or Puan Maharani.
Because political conditions are still very dynamic. There are many other possibilities that can arise. Hafid Adim assessed that if he wanted to keep the chance to win in the 2024 election, Megawati should not mispoint people.
If Megawati decides the Governor of Central Java, Ganjar Pranowo as a presidential candidate in the 2024 election, the chance to win is still wide open. On the other hand, if she prefers her biological daughter, Puan Maharani, the chances will be smaller, even very risky for the PDIP.
The image of Puan Maharani in the eyes of the community is not as good as Ganjar. His performance as chairman of the DPR several times made bad stories for the community.
“There are many negative news that we often encounter when tracing Puan’s track record. Especially in today’s digital era, it is more difficult to restore an image that is not good,” said Hafid Adim to VOI, Tuesday (10/1).
If Puan is promoted, the opposing party will certainly find it easier to skin Puan’s negative things while she is the chairman of the DPR. Not to mention, the issue of dynastic politics. That’s because her son Bu Mega could have increased, not because of her ability to lead,” Hafid added.
Likewise in terms of electability. Ganjar based on reports from a number of survey institutions has the electability well above Puan Maharani. Check out the results of the Poltracking Indonesia survey of 1,220 respondents on 8-16 December 2022, Ganjar’s electability is in the top position with a value of 31.7 percent. Meanwhile, Puan Maharani only 1.5 percent.
The results of the Saiful Mujani Research Center (SMRC) survey of 1,209 respondents on 3-11 December 2022 also showed the same thing. Ganjar still occupies the top position with an electability value of 26.5 percent. Meanwhile, Puan Maharani is ranked 17th with an electability of only 0.6 percent.
It is not surprising that the majority of PDIP supporters, currently, see Ganjar as the ideal figure to become president rather than Puan.
“Never mind Puan, just nominate Ganjar, the opportunity is still fifty-fty, it is not yet guaranteed that Ganjar will be elected. Moreover, the rivals who will appear are certainly people who do have higher electability, such as Anies and Prabowo. So, it is indeed more realistic that Ganjar will be nominated,” he said.
Hafid Adim also believes that Megawati will take the right steps as she did in the 2014 election. At that time, it was Megawati who was actually ready to be nominated by the PDIP. However, she was willing to resign and gave Jokowi the opportunity for the victory of the party she led.
“I think Megawati will also think realistic for the 2024 General Election in order to maintain the chances of winning her party, PDIP. With her decades of experience in politics, she will definitely be able to assess what is best,” added Hafid Adim Pradana.
