Jakarta. Prabowo Subianto is not interested in becoming a running mate in the 2024 presidential election and will try his luck for a third time for the first time despite back-to-back losses, a close ally said on Sunday.

The defense minister is a potential running mate for poll leader Ganjar Pranowo whose candidacy was confirmed by the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) two days earlier.

But Prabowo’s Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) has nominated him for president in its last congress and the decision still stands, at least for now.

“Gerindra is firm with the decision to nominate Mr. Prabowo for president. His odds are very high with strong public support given the current situation,” Gerindra Deputy Chairman Fadli Zon told reporters in Jakarta.

He was responding to a question about the possibility of Prabowo teaming up with Ganjar for the vice president post.

But Fadli said the nomination of candidates is a very dynamic process until the official registration with the General Election Commission comes in October.

A day earlier, Prabowo provided the same answer to the same question when he visited Solo, Central Java, to celebrate Eid with President Joko Widodo.

“The party makes me a presidential candidate. My party is quite strong now,” Prabowo said.

“[Ganjar] has been nominated for president too, so let’s see how the situation will develop. It’s still a long way to go until the registration in October.”

Prabowo is one of a few names the president has described as worthy candidates for Ganjar’s running mate, along with State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir, Chief Security Minister Mohammad Mahfud MD, and Golkar Party Chairman Airlangga Hartarto.

He is second only to Ganjar in various national polls with some analysts predicting a Ganjar-Prabowo pairing will guarantee a win in a hypothetical race with former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.

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