Indonesia Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto to run for president in 2024

JAKARTA: Indonesia s Defence Minister and the head of Gerindra Party Prabowo Subianto announced on Friday that he was going to run for president in the 2024 election.

Subianto is the first politician to confirm his candidacy for the upcoming contest.

He made the announcement during his party's national leadership meeting at the Sentul International Convention Center in Bogor, West Java, where party members expressed their desire for Mr Subianto to run again.

The minister said he had studied and listened carefully to his party members who wish that he would accept their nomination as president of the Republic of Indonesia in 2024.

Mr Subianto said that I accept your request to be nominated as a candidate for the presidency of the Republic of Indonesia.

I declare tonight that I am ready to fight for my beloved nation and people. Mr Subianto said all my soul and spirit I dedicate to our motherland.

After Mr Subianto's acceptance speech, Gerindra leadership declared that he will be the party's sole candidate for the presidential race.

In his speech, Subianto said that he will never give up fighting for his country.

I will continue to fight for my people as long as I am still breathing, given the strength. He said my nation's goal is to achieve what has been pioneered by the founders of our nation.

He took the opportunity to explain why he intends to run again after several failures, saying that it is normal for a fighter to fall.

Subianto previously ran for the presidency in 2014 and 2019 but lost to Joko Widodo in both contests.

He ran for vice president in 2009, along with the head of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle PDI-P Megawati Soekarnoputri. They lost against Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Mr Boediono.

In the upcoming election, Widodo won't be able to run again because of the constitution that only allows a politician to stay in power for two terms. His two terms will end in October 2024.

According to pollsters, Subianto is among the favorites this time. He has topped the polls along with names such as Governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo and Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan.

A party must get at least 20 per cent of the total seats in the parliament, or 25 per cent of the votes in the previous legislative election in order to nominate a presidential candidate.

As the third biggest party in parliament, Gerindra currently holds 13.57 per cent of the seats, so it will need to form a coalition to meet the 20 per cent threshold.

There are indications that Gerindra will form a coalition with Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa PKB in the near future. The latter currently holds 10.09 per cent of parliament seats.