Presidential candidate Anies Baswedan greeting his supporters during a campaign event in Banda Aceh, Aceh, on Jan 27, 2024. - Antara This article was published in thejakartapost.com with the title "". Click to read: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2024/07/01/anies-reelection-bid-in-jakarta-hangs-in-balance.html. Download The Jakarta Post app for easier and faster news access: Android: http://bit.ly/tjp-android iOS: http://bit.ly/tjp-ios
JAKARTA: The candidacy of unsuccessful presidential candidate Anies Baswedan in the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election hangs in the balance as potential backers explore the possibilities of naming other candidates.
Anies has announced his intention to run for Jakarta governor in November after some major parties touted him as a prospective candidate, despite his not being affiliated with any political party.
He, however, appears to be facing a bumpy road to secure a nomination after most of the parties that had expressed their interest in his reelection bid now weigh other prospective candidates.
Anies received his first early support last week when the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) endorsed him for another run in the Jakarta gubernatorial election and proposed its former chairman Sohibul Iman as his running mate.
Anies was a popular Jakarta governor from 2017-2022 before running for president in February of this year on the ticket of the PKS, the NasDem Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB), but lost to Prabowo Subianto in the three-horse presidential election.
Despite being the largest party in the capital, the PKS still needs to forge an alliance with other parties to be able to register a ticket with the General Elections Commission (KPU) Jakarta office starting from Aug 27.
There are no parties in the city that meet the nomination threshold of controlling at least 20 per cent of seats at the Jakarta City Council to be eligible to field a candidate pair in the November gubernatorial race alone without forming an alliance with other parties.
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Acknowledging that the PKS cannot nominate a candidate pair on its own, its chairman Ahmad Syaikhu later suggested that its nomination remained negotiable and that it would seek support from other parties.
“We can’t do this alone,” he said.
Other parties that have named Anies among top prospective Jakarta gubernatorial candidates they are considering nominating are the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the second-largest party in Jakarta and which supported another losing presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo, and the PKS’ two former pro-Anies partners: the PKB and NasDem.
Members of the PDI-P and PKB had been discussing the possibility of the two parties joining forces to back Anies’ reelection bid even though they were considering nominating their own party members as his potential running mate.
But the PDI-P and PKB are now also exploring the possibility of forming an alliance without Anies on their ticket so they have their own members running in both the Jakarta and East Java gubernatorial elections.
“Let’s say that if the PKB nominated a gubernatorial candidate in Jakarta, the PDI-P could fill the slot in East Java. It is not a trade-off, but it is called cooperation," said Eriko Sotarduga, an executive of the PDI-P central board.
The PDI-P recently listed former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama as among the prospective candidates being “prioritised in the party’s selection process”, while the PKB said it was also considering nominating Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah for Jakarta governor.
NasDem, the main sponsor of Anies’ unsuccessful presidential bid, had been expected to support his reelection bid in Jakarta. But NasDem recently considered nominating one of its own politicians for the Jakarta governor race, such as party treasurer Ahmad Sahroni or Wibi Andrino, the secretary of the party’s Jakarta office.
NasDem’s half-hearted support for Anies came after party chairman Surya Paloh reportedly met with outgoing President Joko 'Jokow' Widodo earlier this month, the second time the two leaders have met ahead of the nationwide November regional elections.
"It’s not necessarily [Anies]. Let's see how things develop in the future," Surya said when asked by reporters about when NasDem would announce its support for the former Jakarta governor.
Unlike the PKS, both the PKB and NasDem have pledged their support for the incoming government of Prabowo, who received tacit support from Jokowi during the February presidential election.
Jokowi reportedly prefers Ridwan Kamil, the popular former governor of West Java, who is seen as representing pro-Prabowo parties, as Jakarta governor and has considered naming his younger son Kaesang Pangarep as his running mate. Ridwan is a politician with the pro-Prabowo Golkar Party.
Political analyst Nicky Fahriza of the Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) pointed out that Anies would need the support of political parties other than the PKS, not only to meet the eligibility requirement but also to boost his chance of winning the November election.
“He needs to widen his supporter base given that he will be up against a candidate backed by Jokowi and Prabowo along with major parties, such as Golkar and Prabowo’s own Gerindra Party,” Nicky told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Nicky said there was a possibility that parties that had been considering nominating Anies, particularly the PDI-P and PKB, might end up not supporting the former governor because Prabowo would need to ensure that “a pro-government figure will lead Jakarta”.
“So Anies must be able to convince party leaders to nominate him,” Nicky said, adding that Anies must push for talks with PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri and PKB leader Muhaimin Iskandar. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
