Jakarta. Speculations surrounding a potential alliance between Prabowo Subianto and Ganjar Pranowo for the 2024 presidential election were put to rest on Sunday by the chairwoman of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), who said that such a scenario is unlikely.

Ganjar, the former Governor of Central Java and the current front-runner in various polls, has been nominated as the PDI-P's presidential candidate. In contrast, Prabowo, the Defense Minister and leader of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), is closely trailing as a presidential candidate.

Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri addressed the media reports suggesting an agreement that Prabowo would run for president with Ganjar as his running mate, saying, "I, as the chairwoman, have no knowledge of such an arrangement, so we should refrain from giving it credence."

She clarified that both Ganjar and Prabowo would be running in the election with their respective running mates.

The PDI-P has consistently asserted that Ganjar will not contest as a running mate, especially after he was officially selected as the party's presidential candidate on April 21.

Reportedly, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who is also a PDI-P executive, supports the idea of pairing Ganjar with Prabowo to secure an outright victory against rival candidate Anies Baswedan, who is considered an opposition figure to the current government.

Following a three-day national congress, the PDI-P concluded on Sunday, recommending that the chairwoman "announce Ganjar's running mate at an appropriate moment."

Both Ganjar and Prabowo have less than three weeks remaining to select their running mates before the registration deadline with the General Election Commission on October 19.

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