Hamdan Cholifudin Ismail, Jakarta – Political observer from Lingkar Madani Foundation, Ray Rangkuti, on Wednesday said that political parties should already consider proposing an alternative presidential candidate to run for the 2024 presidential election. He believes it should be done to help answer the challenges of future developments in Indonesia.
Ray explained that the discourse on alternative presidential candidates would encourage the improvement of the presidential election, which is a matter of contesting ideas. He also assessed that there are signs of public boredom toward already popular figures such as Ganjar Pranowo, Prabowo Subianto, and Anies Baswedan.
"The alternative presidential candidate is not just a figure who is popular, but a figure who has ideas and is associated with certain issues and substances. For example in the field of economic independence there is Rizal Ramli, in the field of technology development there is Ilham Habibie, and in the field of democracy there is Jimly Asshiddiqie," said Ray Rangkuti in participating in the discussion on 'Finding Alternative Presidential Candidates & Reading Coalition Directions" on August 31.
He believes the general public should not hesitate to make demands for political figures and political parties to focus on the challenges of Indonesia's development after 2024.
Moreover, Ari Nurcahyo from Para Syndicate said alternative presidential candidates are figures who can open the perspective that electability, popularity, and acceptability are only one variable in determining a presidential candidate. He also stated that the names of alternative presidential candidates could still be raised considering the need for efforts to strengthen the substance and public interest in the 2024 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Litbang Kompas manager Toto Suryaningtyas said his institution's study from January to June this year found that popular names such as the current defense minister who had run for presidency multiple times Prabowo Subianto, governor Ganjar Pranowo, and governor Anies Baswedan remain the top three in the public's eyes for the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
However, he believes the electability of the three aforementioned figures is experiencing a stagnation phase with none of them having a significant electability spike.