Preparing to establish a political party, what capital does Anies have?

Jakarta, VIVA – After confirming that he will not participate in the 2024 presidential elections in Jakarta, Anies Baswedan admitted that he is preparing to form a new political party.

Anies expressed his intention in the memoirs “Anis” after the 2024 presidential and regional elections, quoted on Anies Baswedan’s YouTube page, Friday, August 30, 2024. Anies wants to embody the spirit of change, which, according to him, is increasing day by day through mass organizations or political parties.

What are the chances that Anies Baswedan intends to found a new political party? What is Anies’s capital to make this happen?

SMRC researcher Saidiman Ahmed revealed that Anies Baswedan’s desire to form a political party is an interesting idea. He quoted SMRC founder Professor Saiful Mujani as saying that the birth of political parties in Indonesia is usually influenced or supported by three factors.

“First, the numbers,” Saidiman said in his X account, which was delivered on Saturday, August 31, 2024.

charismatic thinking

He explained that in general, parties in Indonesia, especially after the reforms, were born from charismatic personalities. As has PKB Abdurrahman Vahid. The PAN used to have its president in Amiens. The Democratic Party was created as a forum to accommodate the supporters of Susilo Bambang-Yudhoyono.

Gerindra is also Prabowo Subianto’s political machine. There is even NasDem and Surya Paloh. The same goes for other Indonesian parties in general. “Looking at Anies’ political achievements, he clearly meets the requirements of the political party identity,” Saidiman said.

“Not only was he the governor of the most strategic region of Jakarta, but he was also the second winner of the presidential election with 24.9 percent of the votes. In the 2024 presidential election, around 40 million people voted for him,” he added. He continued.

In fact, without being a party member, Anies managed to attract three main parties with different ideologies, such as the Islamist/modernist PKS, the traditional mass Muslim PKB and the nationalist Nasdem. “All this happened because of the strong attraction of Anies’ image,” he wrote.

Saidimon continued his speech and said that the second factor that can be the basis for the establishment of the party is the public base of public organizations. Several parties that emerged after the reforms were formed with the support of the mass base of mass organizations.

“This is represented primarily by the PKB, which is based on the masses of the NU and PAN, which are close to the masses of Muhammadiyah. The same is true for the PKS, this party leads the educational movement that has been developing in the cities since the 1980s and 1990s,” Saidiman explained.

So does Anies have a mass base that can be mobilized to form a party? According to Saidiman, Anies has enough mass to build a party.

One of the main groups supporting Anies as governor of Jakarta and as a presidential candidate is the mass of Islamic organizations, especially outside the NU. Even new Islamic organizations and movements seem to be tending to move closer to Anies.

“This could be an entry point for Anies to build grassroots political networks across Indonesia.”

According to Saidiman, since winning the DKI regional elections in 2017, Anies has effectively become the political representative of Islam in Indonesia.

Time for change

So the third factor that makes it possible to create a powerful party is the drive for change. Reforms are an important impetus that helps the birth of many parties. “Reform marks a change in the political system from autocracy to democracy,” he said.

On a smaller scale, the current state of weakening democracy may be an opportune moment to suggest to people the idea of ​​change or improvement, Saidiman said.

In addition to being a political representative of Islam, Anies has in fact become one of Kasri’s antithetical figures.

“The palace’s efforts to undermine democracy through cooperation of political parties, interference in the courts, buying the independence of large public organizations, suppressing the media, etc. are proof of the government’s autocratic tendencies,” Saidimon said.

This situation is worsening and has provoked public resistance. This is an important impetus for changes that will create new social and political movements. “And it is a good boost for figures like Anies, who are contributing to the spirit of change through a more institutionalized movement,” he said.

According to Saidimon, three basic or essential conditions for the formation of the party have thus been met.

“In the future we will see if this political capital can be combined to create a political party that will be a new channel for the aspirations of Anies Baswedan’s supporters, one that is Islamic and democratic at the same time. Maybe,” he concluded.