Megawati Reminds PDI-P Candidates in the 2024 Regional Elections Not to Lie

In the meeting which was held behind closed doors, PDI-P General Chair Megawati Soekarnoputri reminded party cadres, especially those who will run for the regional elections, not to lie. Honesty is one of the qualifications for attitudes and actions that must be strengthened in addition to discipline and working hard to overcome people's problems.

According to Megawati, when giving directions in a coordination meeting held at the Party School Building, Jakarta, on Friday (4/26/2024), honesty is very important in an organizational context. She gave an example, if a party instructs a particular work program, and then a cadre lies by claiming to have implemented it, but in reality, it is done halfheartedly.

"Do not lie. For me, if we are committed to die hard, yes, we really have to die hard. If you're lying, it's better not to. Instead of becoming an official, but then lying, it is better that one region is empty (of cadres who sit as regional heads). So, don't be rude," said Megawati as quoted in a PDI-P press release. The total number of regional heads/deputy heads who attended was almost 200 people.

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The coordination meeting of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) with the head and deputy head of regions from the PDI-P, which was held behind closed doors at the Party School Building in Lenteng Agung, Jakarta, on Friday (4/26/2024). The meeting was directly led by PDI-P's General Chairperson, Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Regarding discipline, the daughter of Indonesia's first president, Soekarno, reminded that discipline covers various dimensions, such as organizational discipline and disciplined actions within the context of law. Because, she considered the law to be very vulnerable to exploitation and at the same time could become a gap vulnerable to intimidation.

Another important qualification that needs to be strengthened is a commitment to actively work among the people. "Go down to the grassroots level and become a solution to the people's problems. Understand the people's issues and help them find solutions. We must help and protect the people," he said.

In her directions, Megawati motivated the cadres who serve as heads/deputy heads of regions to remain enthusiastic in the midst of various pressures occurring.

General Secretary of PDI-P, Hasto Kristiyanto, explained that in addition to listening to the directions of the party's chairman, the meeting also discussed the stages of regional elections and the party's planned movements to be carried out. The meeting also evaluated the results of the previous election. From the evaluation, it was found that PDI-P's votes had decreased at the provincial level. Nevertheless, there was an increase in the number of provincial council leaders obtained by PDI-P cadres.

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Before the PDI-P, several other political parties had also begun to rev up their party machine in preparation for the regional elections. For example, Golkar Party gathered their prospective regional head candidates to receive guidance from Golkar Chairman Airlangga Hartarto and to obtain preparation relating to the regional elections, in Jakarta, at the beginning of April.

Not only that, parties such as the National Awakening Party (PKB) and National Mandate Party (PAN) have started opening registrations for people who want to run in regional elections through those parties.

Cross-party communication

In addition, communication at the elite party level for the nomination of regional head candidates and deputy regional head candidates has also been intense. As an example, in a meeting between the Chairman of the Nasdem Party, Surya Paloh, and the President of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Ahmad Syaikhu, on Wednesday (24/4/2024), cooperation between the two parties to nominate the same candidate in several regions was agreed upon.

Likewise at the meeting between PKB General Chair Muhaimin Iskandar and Ahmad Syaikhu, Thursday (25/4) evening. According to PKS Secretary General Aboe Bakar Al-Habsyi, PKS and PKB have shown enthusiasm to continue the cooperation that existed during the presidential election. After the presidential election, PKS and PKB will continue political collaboration and cooperation, especially in facing 2024 Pilkada. "We are ready to work together in many regions, especially in East Java, Central Java and other regions," said Aboe.

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According to Deputy Treasurer of the National Awakening Party Bambang Susantono, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) have a lot of experience in coalition building during regional elections. For example, in the 2018 Central Java Governor Election, both parties jointly supported the candidate pair of Sudirman Said and Ida Fauziah. At that time, the two parties also formed a coalition with the Gerindra Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN).

In the previous presidential election, Nasdem, PKB, and PPP were part of the same political party coalition. The coalition, named Perubahan, supported presidential and vice presidential candidates Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar.

Referring to Law Number 10 of 2016 concerning Regional Elections, in order to nominate a pair of candidates for regional head/vice regional head, political parties or coalition of political parties must fulfill the requirements of obtaining at least 20 percent of the total seats in the Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD) or 25 percent of the accumulation of valid votes in the general election of DPRD members in the respective region.