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Bali election: Another test for PDI-P’s regional strength
The PDI-P’s own members, gubernatorial candidate Wayan Koster and running mate I Nyoman Giri Prasta, are facing Made Muliawan Arya-Putu Agus Suradnyana, a candidate pair from the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM) that backed President Prabowo Subianto in February’s presidential election.
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Tallying votes: A worker folds a ballot for the Bali gubernatorial election at the Tabanan Elections Commission (KPU) logistics warehouse in Bali on Oct. 30. Voting day, slated for Nov. 27, will see two candidate pairs competing: Made Muliawan Arya-Putu Agus Suradnyana and Wayan Koster-I Nyoman Giri Prasta. (Antara/Nyoman Hendra Wibowo)
Bali has become another battlefield for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the upcoming simultaneous regional elections, with the question remaining whether the nationalist party and its candidate pair can defend its stronghold on the resort island against an opponent fielded by the big-tent ruling coalition.
The PDI-P’s own members, gubernatorial candidate Wayan Koster and running mate I Nyoman Giri Prasta, are facing Made Muliawan Arya-Putu Agus Suradnyana, a candidate pair from the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM) that backed President Prabowo Subianto in February’s presidential election.
Observers hope that the race between a former governor seeking reelection and his Jakarta-backed opponent will be more than a battle between figures and parties, instead opening debate on how the next regional head sees the development of Bali over the next five years.
Traditional PDI-P stronghold
Bali is known as a traditional stronghold for the PDI-P, with the nationalist party having won the most votes in all legislative elections in the region since 1999.
In this year’s national legislative elections, the PDI-P won in Bali, with more than 1.2 million votes, nearly half of all valid votes in the province. The Golkar Party came in second with 333,500 votes.
The PDI-P has also been the majority party in the provincial legislative council (DPRD). For the 2024-2029 term, the party won the most seats in the DPRD with 32, one less as compared with the previous five year term.
