Gerindra Party Chairman Prabowo Subianto officially announced President Jokowi's eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his running mate (cawapres) in the 2024 General Election.
The announcement was made after all the chairmen of political parties in the United Indonesia Coalition (KIM) held a meeting at Prabowo's residence on Jalan Kertanegara, Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, on Sunday evening (October 22, 2023).
"This is a unanimous and consensual decision by acclamation, and we are ready to advance for a United Indonesia," Prabowo said in a press conference at his residence, as reported by *Katadata.co.id*, Sunday (October 22, 2023).
Prabowo stated that he and Gibran will register as the presidential and vice-presidential candidates with the KPU (General Elections Commission) on Wednesday (October 25, 2023).
However, according to findings from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), only a small percentage of the public believe Gibran is suitable to be Prabowo's running mate.
LSI conducted a closed simulation survey with three candidate names for vice president considered by respondents as the most suitable to be Prabowo's running mate.
The results showed that Erick Thohir was considered the most suitable to be Prabowo's running mate by 40% of respondents. The Minister of State-Owned Enterprises and Chairman of PSSI was the top choice.
Meanwhile, Gibran, Prabowo's officially nominated running mate by the United Indonesia Coalition, was ranked second with 20.9% of respondent votes.
Khofifah Indar Parawansa followed with 14.8%.
The LSI survey was conducted from October 16-18, 2023, involving 1,229 respondents spread across various regions in Indonesia, assumed to represent approximately 83% of the total national population.
Respondents were Indonesian citizens aged 17 years and older or married and possessing a telephone or mobile phone.
Sample selection used a random digit dialing (RDD) technique that had been validated and screened. Selected respondents were then interviewed by telephone by trained interviewers.
This survey has a margin of error of approximately 2.9%, a confidence level of 95%, assuming random sampling.
Erick Will Assist Prabowo's Campaign
Although Erick Thohir did not become Prabowo's running mate, he is said to be part of the national campaign team (TKN) for the Prabowo-Gibran candidacy.
This was stated by several PAN officials, who previously proposed Erick Thohir as Prabowo's vice-presidential candidate for the 2024 Presidential Election.
"Mas Erick will seriously and focus on the TKN," said PAN Deputy Chairman Viva Yoga Mauladi when contacted by *Katadata.co.id* via text message, Monday (October 23, 2023).
However, Viva Yoga did not provide further details regarding Erick's position and role in the Prabowo-Gibran victory TKN.
(See also: Does the Public Agree with Gibran as Prabowo's Prospective Running Mate?)