Gerindra Party


The Great Indonesia Movement Party, better known as the Gerindra Party, is a nationalist, right-wing populist political party in Indonesia. Since 2014, it has been the third-largest party in the House of Representatives, having won 86 seats in the latest election. It currently controls the presidency and is part of the ruling government. Gerindra is led by former army general and current president Prabowo Subianto.
Founded in 2008, Gerindra serves as the political vehicle for Prabowo. The party first participated in the 2009 legislative election and secured 26 seats in the DPR. In the presidential election, Prabowo ran as the vice-presidential candidate for Megawati Soekarnoputri of PDI-P, but they were defeated by the incumbent president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Gerindra then became the opposition to the SBY administration. In 2014, Gerindra placed third in the legislative election, and Prabowo ran with Hatta Rajasa against Joko Widodo in the presidential election, but they lost. Gerindra once again became the opposition to the government. In the 2019 legislative election, Gerindra won the second-highest majority of votes. Prabowo ran with Sandiaga Uno against Jokowi and lost again. After Prabowo reconciled with Jokowi in July 2019, Gerindra joined the government coalition and he was later appointed the Minister of Defense. In 2024, Prabowo ran with Gibran Rakabuming Raka and won the presidential election in the first round.

History

After coming last in Golkar's presidential convention on 21 April 2004, Prabowo served as a member of Golkar's Advisory Board until his resignation on 12 July 2008. Gerindra was formed on 6 February 2008 at the suggestion of Prabowo's younger brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, who helped pay for party's prime-time TV advertising campaign. Prabowo was appointed chairman of the party's Founding Board.
Gerindra's provincial level election teams were formed in February 2009. The party then claimed a membership of approximately 15 million, with its support base coming from across Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.
The party won 4.5% of the vote in the 2009 legislative election, and was awarded 26 seats in the People's Representative Council.
The Reform Star Party was merged into Gerindra in February 2011.
In the national legislative election on 9 April 2014, the party's vote share jumped to 11.8%, making it the third-most popular party in Indonesia. Gerindra almost trebled the number of seats it won from 26 seats in 2009 to 73 seats in 2014.
Following the death of Gerindra chairman Suhardi on 28 August 2014, Prabowo was appointed general chairman on 20 September 2014.

Political identities

Ideology

The 2008 Political Parties Act states that political parties are allowed to include specific characteristics that reflect their political aspirations, as long as they do not contradict Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. As per Articles 5 and 7 of its constitution and bylaws, Gerindra is founded on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, while its identity is rooted in nationalism, populism, religion, and social justice. In February 2019, the party's central board member Andre Rosiade described Gerindra as a "nationalist-religious" party. Outsider views on the party's political orientation vary. Academics and domestic observers classified Gerindra as a nationalist party, while their international counterparts described it as a secular party with hard nationalist stance, ultranationalist, or "militant nationalist" party. Tom Power disagrees with labeling Gerindra as a secular party and categorizes it as a "inclusivist-nationalist" party, due to its perceived willingness to compromise on Islamic political agendas. Its political leaning has been described as right-wing or right-wing populist.

Political positions

In its political manifesto, Gerindra has taken positions on several issues. On politics, Gerindra seeks to overhaul Indonesia's political system, rejecting liberal democracy as counterproductive. It advocates a culturally aligned democracy, emphasizing robust national leadership based on Pancasila and the constitution. In the economic field, Gerindra advocates economic populism, criticizing Indonesia's liberal economy. It seeks increased state involvement, rejects rising foreign debt, opposes the privatization of state-owned enterprises, calls for the reevaluation of laws favoring foreign entities, and favors reintroducing the New Order era Broad Outlines of State Policy. Gerindra generally rejects economic liberalisation and supports protectionist to even state capitalist measures, while supporting some deregulation to support entrepreneurship, particularly for small and medium enterprises. Gerindra follows a populist and nationalist economic platform, targeting the lower middle class such as farmers and fishers, though its supporters in the 2014 general election were disproportionately urban dwellers.
The Gerindra parliamentary group in the DPR have expressed their opinions on a few issues:
YearBillsVotesParty stances/Other views
2019Revision of Law on the Corruption Eradication Commission
RUU KPK		Gerindra initially opposed the direct appointment of the KPK Supervisory Board members by the president, but later endorsed it after losing the vote during the bill's ratification.
2022Sexual Violence Crime Act
RUU TPKS		Gerindra proposed removing the word "violence" from the bill's title to emphasize prevention over punishment.
2022Law on State Capital
RUU IKN
2022Revision of the Indonesian Criminal Code
RUU KUHP		Gerindra backs the clause against kumpul kebo, considering it against religious beliefs and public norms in Indonesia. They see it as a threat to marital values and a cause of social issues, advocating for stricter penalties from 6 months to 1 year in prison.
2023Omnibus Law on Job Creation
RUU Cipta Kerja
2024Special Region of Jakarta Act
RUU DKJ		Gerindra supports the clause proposing that Jakarta's governor and deputy governor be appointed by the president after consulting the Badan Musyawarah Suku Betawi 1982, viewing it as public participation in lawmaking. Gerindra eventually endorsed the bill.

Leadership structure

The following leadership structure of the party are as follows
Leader of the Advisory Council: General H. Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo
Deputy Leader of the Advisory Council
Secretary of the Advisory Council: Sugiono
Vice Secretary of the Advisory Council: Prasetyo Hadi
General Chairman: General H. Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo
Vice Chairman
  • Deputy General Chairperson for Organization, Cadre Generation, Membership and Election Victory: Sufmi Dasco Ahmad
  • Deputy General Chair for Foreign Affairs: Fadli Zon
  • Deputy General Chair for Ideology, Politics, Government, Party Discipline and Strategic Information: Sugiono
  • Deputy General Chairperson for Economic and Environmental Affairs: Budi Djiwandono
  • Deputy Chairman of the General Chair for Defense and Security: Major General TNI Musa Bangun
  • Deputy Chairperson General Chairperson for Network Potential Empowerment, Cooperatives and MSMEs: Ferry Joko Yuliantono
  • Deputy Chairperson for Health and Employment Affairs: Drg. Putih Sari
  • Deputy Chairperson of the General Chair for Youth, Women and Children: Rahayu Saraswati Djojohadikusumo
  • Deputy Chairperson for Legal and Advocacy: Habiburokhman
  • Deputy Chairperson for Community Service and People's Welfare: Sumaryati Amin Aryoso
  • Deputy Chairperson for Education and Infrastructure: Susi Marleny Bachsin
  • Deputy Chairman of the General Chair for Religious Affairs: Mochamad Irfan Yusuf
Secretary General: Ahmad Muzani
Treasurer: Thomas Aquinas Djiwandono

Chairpersons

Wing organizations

Gerindra's wing organizations include:
  • TIDAR
  • PIRA
  • GEMIRA
  • GEKIRA ; formerly named KIRA.
  • GEMA SADHANA ; for Hindus and Buddhists.
  • PETIR
  • SATRIA
  • SEGARA
  • KESIRA
  • BGM
  • GMI
  • Jari Raya

    Election results

Legislative election results

Presidential election results

''Note: Bold text indicates the party member''