A post-election meeting between president-elect Prabowo Subianto and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri appears to be on the horizon as the largest party in the legislature finds itself in a quandary over how it wants to deal with the rival victory in the presidential election.
The PDI-P scored a hat-trick victory in last month’s legislative election after winning the popular vote for the third time in a row since 2014, despite suffering a bruising defeat in the presidential election, with its candidate Ganjar Pranowo finishing in distant third behind Prabowo.
The PDI-P is projected to win the largest number of seats at the House of Representatives, at 110 out of a total 580 seats, and therefore will likely retain the House speaker seat that holds control over the House’s agenda, as regulated in the prevailing law.
While it is currently one of the parties in President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s governing coalition, the PDI-P’s relations with the outgoing President have turned sour after Jokowi let his son Gibran Rakabuming Raka run as Prabowo’s vice president. It has several times hinted at an intention to play an opposition role in the House once a Prabowo-led government is formed later in October.