Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle
Encyclopedia
The Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI-P) is an Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

n political party. It is led by Megawati Sukarnoputri
Megawati Sukarnoputri
In this Indonesian name, the name "Sukarnoputri" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name "Megawati"....

, the daughter of Indonesian independence leader and first president Sukarno
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...

. Megawati was President of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. The party's ideology is based on the official Indonesian national philosophy, Pancasila
Pancasila Indonesia
Pancasila is the official philosophical foundation of the Indonesian state. Pancasila consists of two Sanskrit words, "pañca" meaning five, and "sīla" meaning principles...

.

Origins

At the 1993 National Congress, Megawati Sukarnoputri
Megawati Sukarnoputri
In this Indonesian name, the name "Sukarnoputri" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name "Megawati"....

 was elected Chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party
Indonesian Democratic Party
The Indonesian Democratic Party was one of the two state-approved parties during the New Order era of the late 20th-century in Indonesia.-Origins:...

, one of the two political parties recognised by President Suharto's "New Order" government. This result was not recognised by the Government and they continued to push for Budi Harjono, their candidate for the Chairpersonship to be elected. A Special Congress was held where the Government expected to have Harjono elected, but Megawati once again emerged as elected leader. Her position was consolidated further when a PDI National Assembly ratified the results of the Congress.

In June 1996, another National Congress was held in the of Medan, to which Megawati was not invited; anti-Megawati members were in attendance. With the Government's backing, Suryadi, a former Chairperson was re-elected as PDI's Chairperson. Megawati refused to acknowledge the results of this congress and continued to see herself as the rightful leader of PDI.

On the morning of 27 July 1996, Suryadi threatened to take back PDI's Headquarters in Jakarta. Suryadi's supporters (reportedly with the Government's backing) attacked the PDI Headquarters and faced resistance from Megawati supporters who had been stationed there since the National Congress in Medan. In the ensuing fight, Megawati's supporters managed to hold on to the headquarters. A riot ensued—at that stage considered the worst that Jakarta had seen during the "New Order" years—which was followed by a Government crackdown, which later blamed the riots on the People's Democracy Party (PRD). Despite being overthrown as Chairperson by Suryadi and the Government, the event lifted Megawati's profile immensely, providing both sympathy and national popularity.

PDI was now divided into two factions, Megawati's faction and Suryadi's faction. Megawati's faction had wanted to participate in the 1997 Legislative Elections, but the Government only recognized Suryadi's faction. In the 1997 Legislative Elections, Megawati and her supporters threw their support behind the United Development Party
United Development Party
The United Development Party , sometimes translated as Development Unity Party is a political party in Indonesia. It is an islamic party and currently led by Suryadharma Ali.-Origins:...

 leaving PDI to with 3% of the votes. Following Suharto's resignation and the lifting of the "New Order" restriction to three national political parties, Megawati declared the formation of PDI-P, adding the suffix perjuangan ("struggle") to differentiate her faction of PDI from the Government backed one. Megawati was elected Chairperson of PDI-P and was nominated for Indonesian President in 1999.

1999 Legislative Elections

PDI-P was by far the most popular political party coming into the 1999 Legislative Elections. With 33% of the votes, PDI-P emerged victorious.

1999 People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) General Session

As the 1999 MPR General Session loomed closer, it was expected that PDI-P would once again play the dominant role. However, despite winning the Legislative Elections, PDI-P did not have absolute majority. Despite this however, PDI-P never formed a coalition with any of the other political parties in the lead up to the 1999 MPR General Session. The closest thing PDI-P had to a coalition was a loose alliance with Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid, born Abdurrahman Addakhil , colloquially known as , was an Indonesian Muslim religious and political leader who served as the President of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001...

's National Awakening Party
National Awakening Party
-Origins:The story of PKB establishment began in May 11, 1998 when the elders Kyai held a meeting at Pesantren Langitan. They discussed the latest situation that demands changes to save Indonesian nation from destruction. As a result Kyai make an official letter to Pak Harto requested he fell or...

 (PKB).

The Presidency looked set to be contested by Megawati and the then incumbent BJ Habibie of Golkar
Golkar
The Party of the Functional Groups is a political party in Indonesia. It is also known as Sekber Golkar . It was the ruling party during Suharto's regime...

 who was looking for a second term. However, MPR Chairman Amien Rais
Amien Rais
Amien Rais is a prominent Indonesian politician who led and inspired the reform movement that forced the resignation of President Suharto in 1998. Amien Rais was the leader of Muhammadiyah, one of the two biggest Muslim organizations in Indonesia, from 1995 to 2000...

 had other ideas as he formed a coalition called the Central Axis which consisted of Muslim Parties. Amien also announced that he would like to nominate Wahid as President. PKB, their alliance with PDI-P never cemented, now moved over to the Central Axis. Golkar then joined this coalition after Habibie's accountability speech was rejected and he withdrew from the race.

It finally came down to Megawati and Wahid. Wahid, with a powerful coalition backing him was elected as Indonesia's 4th President with 373 votes to Megawati's 313.

The PDI-P supporters were outraged. As the winners of the Legislative Elections, they expected to win the Presidential Elections also. PDI-P masses began rioting in cities such as Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

, Solo
Surakarta
Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...

 and Medan
Medan
- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....

. The normally peaceful Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...

 was also involved in pro-Megawati protests. Wahid then realized that there was a need to recognize PDI-P's status as the winners of the Legislative Elections. With that, he encouraged Megawati to run for the Vice Presidency.

Megawati rejected this offer when she saw that she had to face opponents such as United Development Party
United Development Party
The United Development Party , sometimes translated as Development Unity Party is a political party in Indonesia. It is an islamic party and currently led by Suryadharma Ali.-Origins:...

's (PPP) Hamzah Haz
Hamzah Haz
Hamzah Haz is an Indonesian politician. He is the head of the United Development Party and served as the ninth Vice-President from 2001 until 2004....

 and Golkar's Akbar Tanjung
Akbar Tanjung
Akbar Tanjung is an Indonesian politician who is a former chairman of Golkar party. He was the Speaker of the People's Representative Council from 1999 to 2004...

 and Wiranto
Wiranto
Wiranto is a retired Indonesian army General. He was Commander of the military of Indonesia from February 1998 to October 1999, and ran unsuccessfully for President of Indonesia in 2004 and the vice-presidency in 2009....

. After some politicking by Wahid, Akbar and Wiranto withdrew from the race. Wahid also ordered PKB to throw their weight behind Megawati. Megawati was now confident and competed in the Vice Presidential elections. She was elected as Vice President with 396 votes to Hamzah's 284.

2000 Party Congress

The First PDI-P Congress was held in Semarang
Semarang
- Economy :The western part of the city is home to many industrial parks and factories. The port of Semarang is located on the north coast and it is the main shipping port for the province of Central Java. Many small manufacturers are located in Semarang, producing goods such as textiles,...

, Central Java
Central Java
Central Java is a province of Indonesia. The administrative capital is Semarang. It is one of six provinces on the island of Java.This province is the province of high Human Development in Indonesia and its Points Development Index countries is equivalent to Lebanon. The province of Central Java...

 in April 2000, during which Megawati was re-elected as the Chairperson of PDI-P for a 2nd term.

The Congress was noted as one where Megawati consolidated her position within PDI-P by taking harsh measures to remove potential rivals. During the election for the Chairperson, two other candidates emerged in the form of Eros Djarot
Eros Djarot
Eros Djarot is an Indonesian songwriter, director and politician. Beginning his music career with the soundtrack of Kawin Lari in 1976, Djarot became famous with the success of Badai Pasti Berlalu and its soundtrack album...

 and Dimyati Hartono. Both Eros and Dimyati ran for the Chairpersonship because they did not want Megawati to hold the PDI-P Chairpersonship while concurrently being Vice President.

For Eros, when finally received his nomination from the South Jakarta
South Jakarta
South Jakarta is a city within Jakarta Special District, Indonesia. It had a population of 2,057,080 at the 2010 Census, and is the third most populous among the five cities of Jakarta, after East Jakarta and West Jakarta...

 branch, membership problems arose and made his nomination void. Eros was then not allowed to go and participate in the congress. Disillusioned with what he perceived to be a cult of personality
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...

 developing around Megawati, Eros left PDI-P. In July 2002, he would form the Freedom Bull National Party
Freedom Bull National Party
The Indonesian National Populist Fortress Party is a political party in Indonesia. The founder, Eros Djarot was dissatisfied with the Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle, which refused to allow him to stand as chairman against Megawati Sukarnoputri at the party conference in 2000. Eros then...

.

For Dimyati, although his candidacy was not opposed as harshly as Djarot's, he was removed from his position as Head of PDI-P's Central Branch. He kept his position as a People's Representative Council
People's Representative Council
The People's Representative Council , sometimes referred to as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected national legislative assemblies in Indonesia....

 (DPR) member but retired in February 2002. In April 2002, Dimyati formed the Our Homeland of Indonesia Party (PITA).

PDI-P During Wahid's Presidency

Although it had not supported Wahid to the Presidency, PDI-P members received ministerial positions in his cabinet because of Megawati's position as Vice President. As time went on, much like the Central Axis that had supported Wahid, PDI-P would grow disillusioned with Wahid. In April 2000, Laksamana Sukardi, a PDI-P member who held position as Minister of Investments and State Owned Enterprises was sacked from his position. When PDI-P enquired as to why this was done, Wahid claimed it was because of corruption but never backed up his claim.

The relationship improved somewhat when later in the year, Wahid authorized Megawati as the Vice President to manage the day-to-day running of the Government. However, Megawati and PDI-P had slowly but surely started to distance themselves from Wahid and join forces with the Central Axis. Finally, in July 2001 at a Special Session of the MPR, Wahid was removed as President. Megawati was then elected as President to replace him with Hamzah as her Vice President.

Further Splits Within the Party

PDI-P faced further splits after Megawati became President with more disillusioned members leaving the Party.

Two of these members were Megawati's own sisters. In May 2002, Sukmawati Sukarnoputri formed the Indonesian National Party Marhaenism
Indonesian National Party Marhaenism
The Indonesian National Party Marhaenism is a political party in Indonesia.On 26 October 1995, former Indonesian National Party member Supeni established the Indonesian National Union . With the 1998 fall of President Suharto, came the chance to revive the Indonesian National Party...

 (PNI-Marhaenisme). This was followed in November 2002, with Rachmawati Sukarnoputri declaring the formation of the Pioneers' Party (PP).

2004 Legislative Elections

By 2004, the reformist sentiments that had led PDI-P to victory in the 1999 Legislative Elections had died down. Many were disappointed with what Reformation had achieved thus far and were also disappointed with Megawati's Presidency. This reflected itself in the 2004 legislative election
Indonesian legislative election, 2004
Indonesia held legislative elections on 5 April 2004 for both houses of the People's Consultative Assembly, the country's national legislature...

, PDI-P obtained 18.5% of the total vote, down from the 33.7% it obtained during the 1999 legislative election
Indonesian legislative election, 1999
The Indonesian legislative election, 1999, held on June 7, 1999, was the first election since the end of the New Order and the first free election in Indonesia since 1955. With the ending of restrictions on political activity following the fall of Suharto, a total of 48 parties contested the 462...

. http://www.kpu.go.id/Sejarah/pemilu1999.shtml

2004 Presidential Elections

PDI-P nominated Megawati as its Presidential candidate for the 2004 Presidential Election
Indonesian presidential election, 2004
The first direct presidential election in Indonesia was held in two rounds on 5 July and 20 September 2004. Prior to a 2002 amendment to the Constitution of Indonesia, the President and Vice President was elected by the country's top legislative body, the People's Consultative Assembly.Under the...

.

Many running mates were considered, including Hamzah Haz (To renew their partnership from), Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono AC , is an Indonesian politician and retired Army general officer who has been President of Indonesia since 2004....

, and Jusuf Kalla
Jusuf Kalla
is an Indonesian politician who was the 10th Vice President of Indonesia from 2004 to 2009 and Chairman of the Golkar Party during the same period. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the 2009 presidential election.-Early life:...

 (the eventual winners). Finally, Megawati elected Nahdatul Ulama
Nahdatul Ulama
Nahdlatul Ulama is a traditionalist Sunni Islam group in Indonesia.The NU was established on January 31, 1926 as a reaction to the modernist Muhammadiyah organization. In 1965, the group took sides with the General Suharto-led army and was heavily involved in the mass killings of Indonesian...

 Chairman Hasyim Muzadi as her running mate. It was expected that Megawati would appeal to Nationalist sentiments while Hasyim would appeal to Islamist ones. In the first round of elections, Megawati/Hasyim came second to Yudhoyono/Kalla.

To improve Megawati's chances in the run-off, PDI-P, formed a coalition with PPP, Golkar, Reform Star Party
Reform Star Party
- Background :The party began as a movement within the United Development Party to depose Vice-president Hamzah Haz from the chairmanship, which he held for the 1998-2003 term, as it was felt he would not have time to run the party and hold the vice-presidency. The movement's leader was Zainuddin...

 (PBR) and Prosperous Peace Party
Prosperous Peace Party
The Prosperous Peace Party is a Christian-democratic political party in Indonesia. It portrays itself as the reincarnation of Parkindo, the Indonesian Christian Party, which contested the 1955 and 1971 elections...

 (PDS) in August 2004. However Megawati/Hasyim was convincingly beaten in the run-off against Yudhoyono/Kalla.

The National Coalition then turned their eyes on being oppositions for the Yudhoyono/Kalla Government in DPR. With Kalla's election as Chairman of Golkar, Golkar defected onto the Government's side, leaving PDI-P as the only major opposition party in the DPR.

2005 Party Congress

On 28 March 2005, the Second PDI-P Congress was held in Sanur, Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...

 where Megawati was re-elected to the Chairpersonship of PDI-P for a 3rd term. Her brother, Guruh Sukarnoputra
Guruh Sukarnoputra
Muhammad Guruh Irianto Sukarnoputra is a member of Indonesia's People's Representative Council and an artist. He is the youngest son of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno with his third wife, Fatmawati....

, was chosen as Head of the Party's Education and Culture department.

This congress was noted for the formation of a faction called the Renewal of PDI-P Movement. This movement called for a renewal of the Party leadership if it is to win the 2009 Legislative Elections. Although they attended the Congress, the members of the Renewal of the PDI-P movement left once Megawati was re-elected. In December 2005, these same members would form the Democratic Renewal Party
Democratic Renewal Party (Indonesia)
The Democratic Renewal Party is a political party in Indonesia. It was established in 2005 by former members of the Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle who were once close aides of party leader Megawati Sukarnoputri. Following the 2005 PDI-P congress, differences appeared over the nature of...

 (PDP).

2009 Legislative Election

The party came third in the 2009 legislative election
Indonesian legislative election, 2009
Legislative elections were held in Indonesia on 9 April 2009 for 132 seats of the Regional Representative Council and 560 seats of the People's Representative Council . A total of 38 parties met the requirements to be allowed to participate in the national elections, with a further six contesting...

 with 14.0 percent of the votes. It will have 95 seats in the People's Representative Council
People's Representative Council
The People's Representative Council , sometimes referred to as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected national legislative assemblies in Indonesia....

.

2009 Presidential Election

Once again, Megawati is chosen as the presidential candidate, this time with a coalition between the Great Indonesia Movement Party
Great Indonesia Movement Party
The Great Indonesia Movement Party is a political party in Indonesia. The party has nominated former Indonesian special forces commander Prabowo Subianto as its presidential candidate....

 and PDI-P themselves, with Prabowo Subianto as the vice-presidential candidate. Yet again, they lost out to eventual winners Yudhoyono, with Boediono as vice-president. PDI-P went second by 26,6%.

Regional strength

In the legislative election held on 9 April 2009, support for the PDI-P was higher than the party's national average in the following provinces:
  • Bangka-Belitung Islands 21.1%

  • West Java
    West Java
    West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...

     14.7%

  • Central Java
    Central Java
    Central Java is a province of Indonesia. The administrative capital is Semarang. It is one of six provinces on the island of Java.This province is the province of high Human Development in Indonesia and its Points Development Index countries is equivalent to Lebanon. The province of Central Java...

     21.9%

  • Yogyakarta 15.7%

  • East Java
    East Java
    East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and islands to its east and to its north East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and...

     16.2%

  • West Kalimantan
    West Kalimantan
    West Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is one of four Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city Pontianak is located right on the Equator....

     22.9%

  • Central Kalimantan
    Central Kalimantan
    Central Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia, one of four in Kalimantan - the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its provincial capital is Palangka Raya.The province has a population of just over 2.2 million at the 2010 Census...

     24.9%

  • Bali
    Bali
    Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...

     40.1%

  • West Papua 31.6%

  • North Sulawesi
    North Sulawesi
    North Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia. It is on the island of Sulawesi, and borders the province of Gorontalo to the west . The islands of Sangihe and Talaud form the northern part of the province, which border Davao del Sur in the Philippines.The capital and largest city in North Sulawesi is...

    23.4%

External links

1999 Legislative Elections Profile Article on Megawati/Hasyim
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