Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Golkar chairman Airlangga Hartarto said on Thursday night that the United Indonesia Coalition – also known as KIB – would not interfere with the internal affairs of its bloc members, meaning that the alliance does not have a say in PPP's support for Ganjar Pranowo.

PPP on Wednesday announced that it would nominate Ganjar to run in the 2024 presidential race based on the results of the party's so-called national leaders meeting (Rapimnas). Just a day after the big announcement, Airlangga rushed to gather the fellow chairs of KIB members, namely PPP's Muhamad Mardiono and PAN's Zulkifli Hasan. After the closed-door talks, Airlangga said that KIB chose not to intervene with PPP's decision.

"KIB will not meddle in its member parties' internal affairs. The Rapimnas meeting was part of a mechanism within PPP," Airlangga told reporters shortly after meeting with the coalition members at his Jakarta residence on Thursday night.

Just like PPP, the two other parties Golkar and PAN have their very own mechanisms, according to Airlangga.

Zulkifli echoed a similar sentiment, saying that PAN respects PPP's internal decision to nominate Ganjar.

"The time will come for PAN to announce something. There is a mechanism. The same goes for Golkar. The parties might have the same pick or maybe not, but we will discuss this among ourselves. Whether we will reach an agreement or not, it is still a long process until then," Zulkifli said.

At the presser, Mardiono shut down rumors of KIB disbanding after PPP's Ganjar nomination. "No, we haven't disbanded. If we have the same pick, [KIB] could become a [more powerful alliance or] 'coalition plus'," Mardiono said.

PPP has arranged to meet with PDI-P matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri on Sunday. Also, PPP plans to rendezvous with presidential hopeful Ganjar, but the time of the meeting is still in discussion. Once these meetups take place, Mardiono will hold talks with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

"The information we have received so far is that we will be meeting [Megawati] at PDI-P's office," Mardiono told reporters.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/coalition-wont-meddle-in-ppps-internal-affairs-airlangg