Jakarta. Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, a close aide to Prabowo Subianto, has denied Gerindra-Nasdem rumors, saying that two of the country’s major political parties never had such talks.

The Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party -- chaired by President Prabowo Subianto -- has been subject to merger rumors. The National Democrat (Nasdem) Party was Gerindra’s political rival in the 2024 election as it championed ex-Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan.

“We have never had such discussions,” Gerindra’s senior politician Dasco told reporters at the parliamentary complex on Tuesday.

“We are confused about the source. There has never been any discussion leading up to that.”

Saan Mustopa, a senior official at Nasdem, recently said that talks of merger are common in political dynamics.

"In political parlance, it's a fusion, not a merger, not an acquisition. It's a fusion between Gerindra and Nasdem," Saan said.

While such mergers had taken place in the 1970s, Saan admitted that the merger would not be easy, citing the involvement of different ideologies.

"A merger is not easy in today's context where our national situation and our democracy continue to evolve," he said.

Until now, there have been no serious discussions within Nasdem regarding the discourse of merging with Gerindra, according to Saan.

The 2024 general election saw Gerindra ranked third with 13.22% of the vote, while Nasdem placed fifth with 9.66%. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secured the most votes with 16.72%, seconded by Golkar with 15.28%.

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