The Central Axis (, PT), or the Central Axis Coalition (, KPT) was a

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

that supported

Abdurrahman Wahid Abdurrahman Wahid ( ; né ad-Dakhil, 7 September 1940 – 30 December 2009), more colloquially known as Gus Dur (), was an Indonesian politician and Islam in Indonesia, Islamic Kyai, religious leader who served as the fourth president of Indone ...

as a presidential candidate in the

1999 Indonesian presidential election 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is lau ...

. This coalition is based on Islam by five islamic political parties at that time, namely the

National Awakening Party The National Awakening Party (; , PKB), is an Islam-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho. (2017). ''Moving towards a Normalised Path: Political Islam in Contemporary Indonesia''. JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN (JOURNAL OF GOVERNMENT & POLITICS). Vol. 8 No. 1, Febru ...

(PKB), the

National Mandate Party The National Mandate Party (), frequently abbreviated to PAN, is a non-sectarian, religion-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho (2017). ''Moving towards a Normalised Path: Political Islam in Contemporary Indonesia''. Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan (Journal of Governme ...

(PAN), the

United Development Party The United Development Party (, PPP) is an Islam-based Al-Hamdi, Ridho (February 2017). ''Moving towards a Normalised Path: Political Islam in Contemporary Indonesia''. Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan (Journal of Government & Politics). Vol. 8 No. 1, p ...

(PPP), the Justice Party (PK), and the Crescent Star Party (PBB).

Member parties

Background

Central Axis is a term referring to a coalition of Islamic parties formed after the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) won the 1999 Indonesian legislative election. Previously, in June 1999, the PDI-P had won the general election with a percentage of 33%. Given that the president was elected by the General Session of the

People's Consultative Assembly The People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia (, MPR-RI) is the legislative branch in Indonesia's political system. It is composed of the members of a lower body, House of Representatives (DPR) and an upper body, Regional R ...

(MPR) at that time, Megawati was expected to become president. However, on October 7, 1999, Amien Rais formed the Central Axis consisting of Islamic-based parties, such as

(PKB),

(PAN),

(PPP), Justice Party (PK), and Crescent Star Party (PBB). This coalition appointed

as the third presidential candidate to compete directly with Megawati and Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie. After the MPR rejected Habibie's accountability speech,

Golkar Party The Party of Functional Groups (), often known by its abbreviation Golkar, is a centre to centre-right big tent secular nationalist political party in Indonesia. Founded in 1964 as the Joint Secretariat of Functional Groups (, Sekber Golkar), it ...

stated that it would support Gus Dur, and on October 20, 1999 Gus Dur was elected president with 373 votes, while Megawati only got 313 votes. As a compromise, Gus Dur convinced Megawati to run in the vice presidential election, and on October 21, 1999, Megawati was elected as Indonesia's first female vice president. Fifteen years later, the Central Axis concept resurfaced during the

2014 Indonesian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Indonesia on 9 July 2014, with former general Prabowo Subianto contesting the elections against the governor of Jakarta, Joko Widodo; incumbent president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was constitutionally barred f ...

. There was a proposal for Islamic parties to form a coalition to nominate their own presidential candidate to compete with

Joko Widodo Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), often known mononymously as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician, engineer, and businessman who served as the seventh president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. Previously a member of the Indonesian Democratic ...

and

Prabowo Subianto Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and former four-star Indonesian Army, army general who is serving as the eighth and current president of Indonesia since 2024. He was previously t ...

. However, Amien Rais admitted that the chances of forming a Central Axis were almost impossible because Islamic parties were considered no longer as united as before.

Election results

References

{{Reflist Defunct political party alliances in Indonesia 1999 establishments in Indonesia 2004 disestablishments in Indonesia