Jakarta. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) signaled on Thursday that it might adopt the role of the opposition in the future government, as rival presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto appears poised for victory.

Quick count results from all major pollsters, each sampling from 2,000 polling stations, indicate that Prabowo is likely to secure the presidency with 57-59 percent of the vote.

PDI-P's candidate, Ganjar Pranowo, ranks last among the three candidates, receiving only 16-18 percent of the vote. Interim results from the ongoing vote tally by the General Election Commission (KPU) align with the independent quick counts.

The official results won't be announced by the KPU before March 20.

Hasto Kristiyanto, the secretary-general of PDI-P, said the party may "stay out of the government" if Prabowo is confirmed as the elected president.

"In PDI-P’s experience, we excluded ourselves from the government in 2004 and 2009," Hasto told journalists in Central Jakarta, referring to the year when PDI-P Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri was defeated by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the presidential election.

However, Hasto refrained from using the term "opposition," arguing that such terminology isn’t recognized in the Indonesian governance system.

"When we are outside of the government, we will continue to support pro-people policies, but we will stand against harmful policies like rice imports that hurt our farmers," he said.

According to him, the PDI-P has not decided on its political stance toward the potential Prabowo presidency until the official vote tally is concluded.

The PDI-P remains the largest party, securing 16-18 percent of popular votes in Wednesday’s election, according to KPU’s early tally and quick counts by independent agencies. However, the ruling party’s share is expected to decline by around 3 percentage points from the current position.

The party also holds the most representatives in the current cabinet led by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Among them are Justice Minister Yasonna Laoly, Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini, Cooperative and MSME Minister Teten Masduki, Women Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Bintang Puspayoga, Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Abdullah Azwar Anas, and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung.

President Jokowi himself was formerly known as a top PDI-P man, securing the party’s support to become the mayor of Solo, the governor of Jakarta, and for his two presidential terms.

The split between the president and the PDI-P became visible after his son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, shifted allegiance as a running mate for Prabowo in the presidential election.

Gibran, currently the mayor of Solo with PDI-P’s backing, was nominated as the vice-presidential candidate by rival Golkar Party.

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