Central Axis

Central Axis Coalition

*Koalisi Poros Tengah*
Central Axis Coalition Koalisi Poros Tengah
Abbreviation	KPT, PT
Chairman	Amien Rais
Presidential Candidate	Abdurrahman Wahid
Founder	Amien Rais;
Founded	October 7, 1999
Dissolved	October 20, 2004; 20 years ago
Ideology	Pancasila; Islamic modernism; Big tent;
Political position	Big-tent
Member	PKB; PAN; PPP; PK; PBB;
Colours	Green
DPR Seats (1999)	163 / 462
	Politics of Indonesia; Political parties; Elections;

The Central Axis (Indonesian: Poros Tengah, PT), or the Central Axis Coalition (Indonesian: Koalisi Poros Tengah, KPT) was a coalition of political parties in Indonesia that supported Abdurrahman Wahid as a presidential candidate in the 1999 Indonesian presidential election.^[1] This coalition is based on Islam by five islamic political parties at that time, namely the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP), the Justice Party (PK), and the Crescent Star Party (PBB).^[2]

Member parties

Name		Ideology	Political position	Leader	Results 1999			Ref.
Name		Ideology	Political position	Leader	Total votes	Percentage (%)	Seats	Ref.
National party
	United Development Party (Partai Persatuan Pembangun, PPP)	Religious conservatism	Centre-right to right-wing	Hamzah Haz	11,329,905	10.71%	58 / 462	^[1]
	National Awakening Party (Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa, PKB)	Islamic Democracy	Centre	Matori Abdul Djalil	13,336,982	12.61%	51 / 462	^[1]
	National Mandate Party (Partai Amanat Nasional, PAN)	Islamic Modernism	Centre-right	Amien Rais	7,528,956	7.12%	34 / 462	^[1]
	Crescent Star Party (Partai Bulan Bintang, PBB)	Islamic Modernism	Right-wing	Yusril Ihza Mahendra	2,049,708	1.94%	13 / 462	^[1]
	Justice Party (Partai Keadilan, PK)	Islamism	Right-wing to far-right	Nur Mahmudi Ismail	1,436,565	1.36%	7 / 462	^[1]
Central Axis Coalition				Amien Rais	35,682,116	33.74%	163 / 462 (seats of the DPR-RI)

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 (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 National Awakening Party (PKB), National Mandate Party (PAN), United Development Party (PPP), Justice Party (PK), and Crescent Star Party (PBB).^[3] This coalition appointed Abdurrahman Wahid as the third presidential candidate to compete directly with Megawati and Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie.^[4] After the MPR rejected Habibie's accountability speech, Golkar Party 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.^[5] 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. There was a proposal for Islamic parties to form a coalition to nominate their own presidential candidate to compete with Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto. 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.^[6]

Election results

General election	Number of seats	Number of votes	Percentage	Results	Leader
1999	163 / 462	35,682,116	33.74%	163 seats; Governing coalition	Amien Rais

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Poros Tengah: Background, Objectives, Results, and Consequences". kompas.com. Jakarta. 2022-03-07. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
^ Cite error: The named reference Poros Tengah was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Gus Nuril Soko Tunggal, Khoerul Rosyadi (2010), Gus Dur's Ritual and the Secret of His Sainthood. Yogyakarta: Galangpress, p. 81.
^ Barton, Greg (2002). Abdurrahman Wahid: Muslim Democrat, Indonesian President. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-86840-405-9.
^ Conceicao, J.F. (2005). Indonesia's Six Years of Living Dangerously. Singapore: Horizon Books. pp. 9. ISBN 981-05-2307-6.
^ "Amien Rais Admits Central Axis is Almost Impossible". Tempo. September 16, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2017.

[Central_Axis-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Poros Tengah: Background, Objectives, Results, and Consequences". kompas.com. Jakarta. 2022-03-07. Retrieved 2025-01-11.

[Poros_Tengah-2] Cite error: The named reference Poros Tengah was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3] Gus Nuril Soko Tunggal, Khoerul Rosyadi (2010), Gus Dur's Ritual and the Secret of His Sainthood. Yogyakarta: Galangpress, p. 81.

[4] Barton, Greg (2002). Abdurrahman Wahid: Muslim Democrat, Indonesian President. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-86840-405-9.

[5] Conceicao, J.F. (2005). Indonesia's Six Years of Living Dangerously. Singapore: Horizon Books. pp. 9. ISBN 981-05-2307-6.

[porostengah2-6] "Amien Rais Admits Central Axis is Almost Impossible". Tempo. September 16, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2017.

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