“Due to the brutal behavior of their buzzers, I [Ferdinand Hutahaean] stopped supporting Prabowo-Sandi,” he wrote on his Twitter account, Sunday (5/19).

Besides the Democratic Party, Jokowi has also met PAN Chairman Zulkifli Hasan for several times. However, Zulkifli said he did not discuss the possibility of PAN joining the coalition of parties supporting Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin. In a meeting at the Bogor Palace, Zulkifli claimed he came as the Chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) to discuss the issue of unity after the general election.

“We did not discuss about BPN or TKN [Jokowi-Ma’ruf National Campaign Team] or even about the coalition,” he said.

Meanwhile, PAN Deputy Chairman Viva Yoga Mauladi said his party accepted Jokowi-Ma'ruf's victory because the results of the tiered vote count from regional areas were close to valid. He also admitted that there were internal aspirations for his party to join the next government coalition.

“Our consideration is to strengthen the government, so it can run clean, good, and dignified,” Viva said.

Maneuvers from PAN and Democratic Party Indicate a Rift in Coalition

Observers said the maneuvers from the Democratic Party and PAN, which caused a rift in the Adil Makmur Coalition, occurred due to several reasons. First, the Democratic Party was once a major party when SBY became president. But the conditions are different now. The number of votes for the party dropped and even lost to the Nasdem Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB).

Secondly, the Democratic Party and PAN appear to be unhappy with Prabowo’s stance, who continues to echo electoral fraud. On the other hand, they actually encourage mass rallies and delegitimize state institutions, such as the Constitutional Court (MK). “It appears that they [Prabowo’s camp] are deflating their own strength,” Exposit Strategic Political Analyst Arif Susanto told Katadata.co.id.

On the other hand, the Jokowi-Ma’ruf camp hopes for an effective government with a strong vote in parliament in the next government period. The presence of PAN and Democratic Party will be a significant addition of strength. “So lobbying is not only done by PAN or the Democratic Party to the coalition [Jokowi-Ma’ruf]. But on the contrary, the coalition is done to make it bigger,” Lingkaran Survei Indonesia (LSI) Denny JA Researcher Rully Akbar said.

If PAN and the Democratic Party choose to leave, it is likely that the only remaining oppositions are Gerindra and PKS. But this is not the end of the two parties due to the large potential for Prabowo-Sandiaga’s votes in the future that can be worked on. Not to mention the possibility of the emergence of groups that are disappointed for not getting positions within the next government can actually strengthen the Gerindra-PKS camp. “Clearly, the 44 percent figure is not a small number of votes, and can be represented by Gerindra and PKS,” Rully said.

Arif said Gerindra's work has not ended after the 2019 Presidential Election. It must prepare a strategic alliance with other regional parties to welcome the 2020 Regional Head Election (Pilkada). This election is deemed positive for giving birth to potential leaders who can be promoted to the national scale. “It is strategic as the 2024 Presidential Election will be more open [because Jokowi is no longer participating],” he said.

Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko also hopes that the power of the Jokowi-Ma’ruf coalition in parliament could reach 80 percent compared to the current condition, which is only above 60 percent. Thus, government policies are expected to run well without any obstacles in parliament. “Policies become easy to endorse,” Moeldoko said in early May.

Regarding the Democratic Party’s decision to join Jokowi or not, Ferdinand said that it would be decided soon. “It will be decided after everything is completed and there is a presidential decree,” he said.