The candidate pairs for the governor and deputy governor of Jakarta, Ridwan Kamil and Suswono (left), Dharma Pongrekun and Kun Wardana (centre), and Pramono Anung and Rano Karno showing their serial numbers after the draw for the numbers at the Jakarta General Elections Commission office on Sept 23, 2024. - Antara
JAKARTA: Candidates in the Jakarta gubernatorial election will immediately hit the campaign trail as the General Elections Commission (KPU) assigned them their unique ballot numbers for the race on Monday (Sept 23).
Ridwan Kamil, a Golkar Party politician and former West Java governor, and his running mate Suswono from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) pulled number one at the drawing event, which took place at the KPU office in Jakarta.
Ridwan said he was really happy with the ballot number assigned to him, saying it was in line with his campaign jargon and logo.
"We got the number we hoped for. We want to win the election in a single round and now we can say 'let’s win in one round' in accordance with our ballot number," he said on Monday as reported by Kompas.TV.
"Number one also looks like the shape of the National Monument, which we're using as our campaign logo," he added.
The Ridwan-Suswono pair has the backing of 10 out of 11 parties in the local legislature, and the addition of four non-legislative parties.
Included in the big-tent electoral alliance are the parties that supported winning presidential candidate pair Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka in February’s presidential election.
Meanwhile, independent candidate and former police general Dharma Pongrekun and his running mate, academic Kun Wardana, said they were grateful to be assigned number two for their ballots.
"Number two looks like the letter V, which represents victory," Dharma told the press while making a “V” sign with his fingers.
Gubernatorial hopeful and former cabinet secretary Pramono Anung, who drew number three, also said that he and his running mate, actor Rano Karno, got the ballot number they wished for.
"Bang Doel said before the drawing, 'I hope that we'll get number three', and he actually pulled out number three at the drawing event," Pramono said, referring to Rano by his most iconic role in the 1990s soap opera titled Si Doel Anak Sekolahan.
Pramono said he was glad that they got the same number as their political party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), during the legislative elections in February, arguing that it would make their campaign easier.
The Nov 27 regional head elections will be the first time Indonesians vote for their governors, mayors and regents simultaneously across 37 provinces, 415 regencies and 93 cities – more than at any other time in the nation’s history.
Jakarta is one of key battlegrounds for political parties, as securing a gubernatorial spot in the province is widely seen as a springboard to the presidency. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
