The meeting was held only between Mrs Megawati Soekarnoputri and Mr. Prabowo
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Incumbent President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) did not join the meeting of Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party Chairman Prabowo Subianto with PDIP leader Megawati Soekarnoputri at her Central Jakarta residence Wednesday.

"The meeting was held only between Mrs Megawati Soekarnoputri and Mr. Prabowo," Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) Secretary General, Hasto Kristiyanto, told journalists when asked about whether Jokowi had also joined the meeting.

Megawati had spoken to Jokowi who has officially been declared as the president-elect of Indonesia by the General Elections Commission (KPU) about the meeting, he said.

In fact, the two national figures have met when Indonesia hosted the Asian Games last year. At her meeting with Prabowo, Megawati served him a "special menu" for lunch, Hasto said.

"With this lunch diplomacy, all matters will get easier to be discussed for the sake of the nation and state's interests," Hasto said.

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At his meeting with Megawati, Prabowo was accompanied by Gerindra's Deputy General Chairman Edy Prabowo and Secretary General Ahmad Muzani.

This former presidential candidate number 02 arrived at Megawati's residence in a white Toyota Alphard. He was extended a warm welcome by Megawati's son, Mohamad Prananda Prabowo, after arriving and getting off his car at around 12:30 p.m. local time.

Prabowo and Megawati, whose party is the main supporter of incumbent President and President-elect Jokowi, appeared happy during their meeting as was apparent in a photograph circulated by the PDIP to journalists.

Megawati enjoyed a round-table lunch along with her guests, her daughter Puan Maharani, her son Prananda Prabowo, and Secretary Cabinet Pranomo Anung.

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Megawati and Prabowo have known each other for quite a long time. Moreover, they had contested as the presidential and vice presidential pair during the 2009 Presidential Elections. During that time, their popular slogan was "MegaPro" in their endeavor to challenge the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-Boediono pair.

Prabowo's meeting with Megawati took place six days after he had met with Gerindra's advisory council members on July 19 for talks on future steps following his reconciliatory meeting with Jokowi on July 13.

At the meeting held at his residence in Hambalang, Bogor District, West Java, Prabowo Subianto had initially highlighted his measures related to a reconciliation process with Jokowi, a member of Gerindra's Advisory Council, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad noted.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) officially declared the Jokowi-Amin pair as Indonesia's president-elect and vice president-elect following the Indonesian Constitutional Court's (MK's) ruling on the presidential election result dispute on June 27, 2019.

According to the KPU's final tally, the Jokowi-Amin pair secured 85 million votes, or 55.5 percent of the national vote, as against the contenders Prabowo Subianto-Sandi's 68 million votes, or 44.5 percent.

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Translator: Rangga, Joko, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
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