Jakarta. Former President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, his son Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, and his son-in-law Bobby Nasution have been officially dismissed from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) following a year-long rift that began before the presidential election.

PDI-P Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri signed the dismissal letters for the three influential figures on December 14, a party executive revealed on Monday.

“Effective from the signing of the dismissal letter, the PDI-P central committee bears no responsibility for any actions taken by Joko Widodo,” said Komaruddin Watubun, Head of PDI-P’s Council of Honor.

Jokowi’s ties to PDI-P date back to his early political career, with the party backing him during his rise to national prominence. PDI-P supported Jokowi’s candidacy when he successfully ran for the mayoralty of Solo in 2005 and again for the Jakarta gubernatorial election in 2012. The party also played a pivotal role in his two presidential election victories in 2014 and 2019, solidifying its reputation as a key force behind Jokowi’s political ascent.

However, the relationship began to fray after Gibran was appointed as the running mate of then-presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto in October last year. Prabowo was a rival to PDI-P’s nominee Ganjar Pranowo.

The Prabowo-Gibran ticket eventually won the presidential election in February and was sworn into office on October 20.

Jokowi’s apparent backing of Prabowo was seen as a betrayal of Ganjar’s candidacy, despite Jokowi having secured two presidential terms with PDI-P’s support. Gibran, who previously won the mayoral election in Solo with PDI-P’s endorsement, further angered the party by aligning with Prabowo.

Bobby Nasution, who became the mayor of Medan with PDI-P’s backing, has since joined Prabowo’s Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra). He is now poised to win the North Sumatra gubernatorial election, where his only opponent is PDI-P’s nominee, Edy Rahmayadi.

In addition to the dismissal of Jokowi and his family members, PDI-P announced that 27 other executives have been discharged from the party.

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