TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Gun Heryanto, a professor of political communications at the State Islamic University (UIN), predicted that the Democrat Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) would join the Jokowi-JK camp as both parties did not have any interest anymore in the Prabowo-led Red and White coalition.
“[The Democratic Party and PAN] don't have any interest anymore [in the Red-and-White Coalition] since the Constitutional Court (MK) announced its decision,” Gun told Tempo on Tuesday, August 26, 2014.
Earlier, the Democrat Party and PAN were among the parties throwing their weight behind the Prabowo-Hatta ticket in the July 9 presidential race.
Recent reports revealed that the Democrat and PAN had engaged in talks with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and that president-elect Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said he would welcome any party willing to join his camp.
Gun said the the odds were overwhelming that the Democrat, the ruling party for the past decade, would jump ship. “They will still need power in the government,” Gun said.
ODELIA SINAGA
