(Antara/Wahyu Putro A/Reno Esnir)

Incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama has at least one contender in the 2017 gubernatorial election, following the nomination of businessman Sandiaga Uno to become the Gerinda Party's gubernatorial candidate.

Commenting on Sandiaga'€™s nomination, Ahok said on Thursday that the emergence of another candidate was good for democracy in the capital city, but he said that Jakarta residents were critical enough to know which candidate deserved to lead the city.

'€œJakartans will assess what programs the candidate will offer. I hope more people want to express their readiness to become gubernatorial candidates,'€ Ahok said as reported by kompas.com.

Sandiaga now is deputy chairman of Gerindra Party'€™s Advisory Council.

Ahok said that he could not assess his political rival'€™s capacity because Sandiaga had not held a position as a governor or another public position, but he believed that the emergence of many candidates in the 2017 gubernatorial election would become a political education for Jakartans.

Sandiaga expressed his readiness to become a gubernatorial candidate on Wednesday in Jakarta after meeting with politicians from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

'€œAll young figures who want improvement should be ready [to become gubernatorial candidates],'€ he told journalists at the House of Representatives.

Sandiaga said as a metropolitan city, Jakarta still faced a lot of problems, one of which was a lack of infrastructure.

Another problem, according to Sandiaga, is a large gap between the rich and poor.

'€œThe city administration has to facilitate mutual progress among micro, small, medium and large businesses so that the economic gap among the people can be reduced,'€ he said.

Besides the Gerindra Party, Sandiaga Uno also got support from PKS, the second largest party in the city after the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Meanwhile, Ahok has not been nominated by any political party, but a group of people, who call themselves '€œFriends of Ahok'€, have started to collect photocopies of Jakarta Identity Cards. The ID photocopies are needed, if Ahok wants to run as an independent gubernatorial candidate. (bbn)(++++)

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