JAKARTA, Dec 17 — Former President Joko Widodo; his son, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka; and his son-in-law, Bobby Nasution, have been officially expelled from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) after a year-long rift that started before the presidential election.
According to Jakarta Globe, PDI-P Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri signed the dismissal letters for the three prominent figures on December 14, a party official said yesterday.
“Effective from the signing of the dismissal letter, the PDI-P central committee bears no responsibility for any actions taken by Joko Widodo,” Komaruddin Watubun, Head of PDI-P’s Council of Honor, was quoted as saying.
Widodo, better known as Jokowi, began his political career early with PDI-P. The party supported him as he rose to national prominence. PDI-P endorsed his successful campaigns for mayor of Solo in 2005, Jakarta governor in 2012, and played a critical role in his two presidential victories in 2014 and 2019, cementing the party as a major force behind his political ascent.
However, as reported by Jakarta Globe, tensions arose when Gibran was appointed as the running mate of Prabowo Subianto, the presidential candidate opposing PDI-P’s choice, Ganjar Pranowo, in October of last year.
The Prabowo-Gibran ticket won the presidential election in February and was inaugurated on October 20.
Jokowi’s apparent support for Prabowo was seen as a betrayal of Ganjar’s candidacy, despite Jokowi securing two presidential terms with PDI-P’s backing. Gibran’s alliance with Prabowo further strained the relationship, as he had previously won Solo’s mayoral election with PDI-P’s endorsement.
Bobby Nasution, who was elected mayor of Medan with PDI-P support, has also joined Prabowo’s Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and is now running for the North Sumatra governorship, where his opponent is PDI-P’s nominee, Edy Rahmayadi.
In addition to the dismissal of Jokowi and his family members, PDI-P also announced the expulsion of 27 other party executives.