Pramono Anung (centre) and running mate Rano Karno (front, left) greeting supporters upon arriving at the Jakarta General Elections Commission office in Jakarta on Aug 28, 2024. - Antara
JAKARTA: Two potential candidate pairs registered their candidacy for the Jakarta gubernatorial election with the local branch of the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Wednesday (Aug 28), setting the stage for a three-horse race in November.
Cabinet secretary Pramono Anung, backed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), was the first candidate to register with the Jakarta KPU on Wednesday.
In traditional Betawi attire, Pramono and his running mate, PDI-P politician and actor Rano Karno, arrived in an oplet (classic Jakarta minivan) at the Jakarta KPU office at around 11am.
Former West Java governor Ridwan Kamil was the second candidate for Jakarta governor to register on Wednesday.
Arriving at the Jakarta KPU office at around 2pm, he and running mate Suswono were also in traditional Betawi dress for the registration.
Meanwhile, former police general Dharma Pongrekun and academic Kun Wardana were expected to register as an independent candidate pair on Thursday, the final day of the registration period.
Pramono told reporters after registering that he expected running for governor to be a big challenge, especially considering that Ridwan had strong polling figures and would be supported by a big tent coalition.
"However, my decision to run in the race means that I'm ready to fight. I don't mind that [Ridwan] is backed by a lot of parties. I'll simply build a coalition with the people," Pramono said, as reported by kompas.com.
His rival Ridwan said he would aim to make Jakarta “a new and advanced” global city if elected.
“We need to reimagine and redefine Jakarta after it ceases to be Indonesia’s capital city,” he said, as quoted by Antara.
“My vision is to make Jakarta a global city filled with innovation and to provide social justice and welfare,” he continued.
The Ridwan-Suswono pair is backed by a grand alliance of 12 parties, including those that supported president-elect Prabowo Subianto and vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka in the February presidential election.
Ridwan has consistently ranked among the most popular figures for Jakarta governor in public opinion polls.
Pramono, meanwhile, has not been included in any survey’s list of potential contenders.
The PDI-P had reportedly been considering backing the reelection bid of former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, who had been topping electability polls for the gubernatorial race. But it decided at the last minute to back Pramono. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
