Jakarta – Unsuccessful presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has said that he will reject any offer of a cabinet position in the administration of president-elect Prabowo Subianto.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ganjar said that he would be an opposition figure to allow for a checks-and-balances mechanism to work in the future.
"It would be better if I am on the outside because checks-and-balances need to happen," Ganjar said, as quoted by Antara.
Ganjar claimed that he had already received an offer from Prabowo to sit as minister in the incoming cabinet, to be sworn in soon after Oct. 20.
The former Central Java governor said that Prabowo should instead offer cabinet positions to politicians and figures nominated by political parties in his electoral alliance. "That would be fair to them," he said.
The General Elections Commission (KPU) has announced that Prabowo received nearly 60 percent of the vote in the Feb. 14 presidential election. Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan received 25 percent of the vote, while Ganjar took 16 percent.
Ganjar has challenged the election result at the Constitutional Court. Ganjar's legal team has called on the court to order an election re-run by June 26 at the latest that excludes President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's son Gibran Rakabuming Raka, alleging his last-minute inclusion as Prabowo's running mate had unfairly influenced the vote.