Jokowi, Fauzi seek to show common touch

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The final countdown: Incumbent Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo (right) and the contender, Surakarta Mayor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, are seen among their supporters during their election campaigning on Saturday. (JP/P.J. Leo)

The two men running for the city’s top job, incumbent Fauzi Bowo and Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, have intensified their campaign among ordinary Jakartans ahead of Thursday’s gubernatorial runoff.

On Saturday, the second day of the three-day campaign period Jokowi — the current mayor of Surakarta in Central Java — visited the densely populated areas of Kota Bambu in West Jakarta and Penjaringan in North Jakarta. He also made a short visit to a gathering of alumni of Surakarta State University in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

In Penjaringan, Jokowi agreed to sign a political contract offered by local members of the Urban Poor Network (JRMK). The contract demanded Jokowi involve low-income people in the drafting process of spatial plans, city budgets and development plans, in the interests of transparency and recognizing the rights of marginalized citizens, should he be elected governor.

Meanwhile, Fauzi greeted and shook hands with hundreds of people as he visited kampungs in Kebon Manggis in East Jakarta, Jati Pulo in West Jakarta and Muara Angke in North Jakarta.

In Jati Pulo, Fauzi silenced one voter who had interrupted his speech. The man, who was actually wearing a Fauzi campaign team shirt, yelled: “There is no water here Pak, no clean water!”

The governor responded coldly: “Stop it, let me speak first here.”

Brashness is a well known characteristic of the career bureaucrat. A survey jointly conducted by Nasional University and the Madani Institute in April found the most common trait that citizens first note in Fauzi is “grumpiness”, a characteristic described by 50.2 percent of the 1,050 respondents questioned in the survey.

Also on Saturday, Saiful Mujani Research & Consulting firm released their survey results on the gubernatorial candidates.

In a closed question regarding the candidates’ characteristics, 37 percent of 1,000 respondents said they regarded Fauzi as unfriendly and a cold person, while 26 percent had the same impression of Jokowi.

Political communication expert Effendi Ghazali said Fauzi and Jokowi needed to expand their supporter bases ahead of the runoff, saying that in general, Fauzi was already strong among low-income voters while Jokowi had a firmer footing with middle- and upper-income voters.

Jokowi finished 8 percent ahead of Fauzi in the first round of voting on July 11.