Partai Persatuan Pembangunan in Medan City in the 1977-1997 Elections

Abstract

This research discusses the Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP) in Medan City during the 1977-1997 elections. The aim is to describe the PPP's efforts in facing electoral contestation as well as the political strategies (campaigns) used to win people's votes. Using the historical research method with the stages of heuristics, verification, interpretation, and historiography, this research applies a social approach through theories of political culture, political dynamics, political parties, and campaigns. Data sources include archives of the General Election Institute, Waspada Daily, interviews with contemporaries, and related books. The results showed that PPP was officially established on January 5, 1973 as a result of the fusion of NU, PSII, Parmusi, and Perti based on Law No. 7/1959 and MPR Decree No. IV/1973 to reduce ideological conflicts in the Old Order era. In North Sumatra and Medan, PPP management was confirmed on June 16, 1973 under the leadership of Zainal Arifin Abbas. During the 1977-1997 elections, PPP pursued a political strategy of featuring popular figures such as Rhoma Irama, ulama, and PPP central figures, despite facing challenges such as the change of the Kaaba logo to a pentagon star and pressure from other election participants. Nevertheless, PPP was still able to place representatives in the Medan City DPRD and maintain its existence as a channel for Muslim aspirations until the end of the New Order.