JAKARTA: Former Indonesian president Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, his son and vice-president Gibran Rakabuming Raka, and his son-in-law Bobby Nasution have been expelled from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) following a year-long dispute that began ahead of the presidential election.
According to a party executive, PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri signed the dismissal letters for the three influential figures on Dec 14, Jakarta Globe reported.
Head of PDI-P's Council of Honour, Komaruddin Watubun, said: "Effective from the signing of the dismissal letter, the PDI-P central committee bears no responsibility for any actions taken by Joko Widodo."
Jokowi's association with PDI-P dates back to the beginning of his political career, when the party supported his rise to national prominence. It backed Jokowi's successful candidacies for the Solo mayoralty in 2005 and the Jakarta gubernatorial election in 2012.
It was also instrumental in his presidential victories in 2014 and 2019, cementing its role as a key force behind his political ascent.
However, the relationship began to fray when Gibran, who had earlier won the Solo mayoral election with PDI-P's support, was named the running mate of then-presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto - PDI-P's rival to its candidate Ganjar Pranowo - in October last year.
The Prabowo-Gibran ticket won the presidential election in February and was sworn into office on Oct 20.
Jokowi's support for Prabowo was viewed as a betrayal of Ganjar's candidacy.
Bobby Nasution, who became the mayor of Medan with PDI-P's support, has since joined Prabowo's Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra). He is now poised to win the North Sumatra gubernatorial election, where his sole opponent is PDI-P's candidate, Edy Rahmayadi.
PDI-P also announced that 27 other executives have been dismissed from the party.