Indonesian National Party - Post-independence

Post-independence

Following the Indonesian Declaration of Independence in August 1945, on the same day as the Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP) was established, August 22, the Indonesian National Party was established as a state party. However, it was dissolved on September 1 as it was deemed unnecessary.

In January 1946, the Indonesian National Party was revived, but this time without Sukarno, who as president, was above politics. The party attracted considerable support due to its having the same name as Sukarno's original party as well as the short-lived party of August 1945. The party had many key governmental posts from 1945 on and won the largest share of votes in the first Indonesian general election in 1955. The party programme embraced above all nationalism; it also favoured a strong centralized government and secularism.

The left wing of the party was purged following the 1965 coup attempt by the 30 September Movement, weakening the party. Along with eight other political parties and the government-sponsored Golkar organization, the PNI contested the 1971 elections. It came third, but won less than 7% of the vote. In 1973, the PNI along with other nationalist and Christian parties was merged into the Indonesian Democratic Party in order to limit the number of political parties and to weaken opposition to the regime.

After the fall of President Suharto in 1998, the part was revived and contested the 1999 legislative election as the Indonesian National Party Marhaenism.