Jakarta – Losing presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo predicted that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the political party that nominated him in the Feb. 14 presidential election, would recast itself to become a force of opposition against the incoming administration of President-elect Prabowo Subianto.
Ganjar, who garnered 16 percent of the vote in the Feb. 14 presidential election, said that judging from statements made by PDI-P chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri in recent weeks, it was likely that the party had readied itself to be part of the opposition.
"No decision has been made, but if we see statements from Bu Mega, I believe that yes, it [the PDI-P] will be outside of the government," Ganjar told reporters in Yogyakarta on Thursday.
Ganjar said that the possibility of the PDI-P being an opposition force could promote checks and balances in the next five years of the Prabowo administration.
The PDI-P is expected to announce its position regarding the incoming Prabowo administration in late May when the party stages its national working meeting.
In the days following the Feb. 14 balloting for the presidential election, Megawati frequently made statements criticizing what she perceived as election meddling by outgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, a former PDI-P politician himself.
The PDI-P has also lodged a complaint at the Constitutional Court about the election meddling allegation and has called for a rerun in the balloting process.
None of the PDI-P politicians including Ganjar showed up on Wednesday when the General Elections Commission (KPU) announced the final result of the Feb. 14 presidential election.
Earlier this week, Komarudin Watubun, who heads the ethical division of the PDI-P, said that Jokowi and his son, incoming vice president Gibran Rakabuming Raka, are no longer members of the party after they backed Ganjar's rival and election winner Prabowo.