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Ridwan Kamil no show at Gerindra recruitment event
Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil speaks to the press at an event in Bandung in December, 2015
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Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil speaks to the press at an event in Bandung in December, 2015. He is nominated as a Jakarta gubernatorial candidate by Gerindra Party. (kompas.com/Dendi Ramdhani) (kompas.com/Dendi Ramdhani)
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span class="caption">Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil speaks to the press at an event in Bandung in December, 2015. He is nominated as a Jakarta gubernatorial candidate by Gerindra Party. (kompas.com/Dendi Ramdhani)
Bandung Mayor Ridwan "Emil" Kamil did not attend an event organized by the Gerindra Party on Wednesday to recruit a Jakarta gubernatorial candidate to challenge incumbent Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama in the 2017 election.
Emil is one of eight figures being considered by the political party. The others are businessman Sandiaga Uno, lawmaker Biem Banjamin, City Council deputy speaker M. Taufik, city councilor Mohamad Sanusi, Gerindra secretary general Ahmad Muzani, former deputy defense minister Sjafrie Syamsuddin and Jakarta city secretary Saefullah.
Besides Emil, Sjafrie, Saefullah and Muzani were also absent from the event.
Chairman of the Gerindra recruitment team Syarif said their absences would not lead the party to drop their candidacies. "We have received texts, emails and phone calls from them explaining the reasons for their absences today," Syarif told the press conference held on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Emil said that he was not sure that he could come to the event organized by Gerindra because of his daily activities as Bandung mayor, but he expressed his readiness to communicate with the party in connection with his nomination.
"I have many activities. It [my presence] is not a priority. We can communicate by phone. So it is not necessary to go there physically," he said as reported by kompas.com, adding that he respected anyone who invited him.
Among the eight figures, Emil is the strongest rival to Ahok, who is expected to run as an independent candidate.
In a recent survey carried out by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Ahok's electability rating stood at 45 percent in the capital city, while Emil's was 15.75 percent, followed by Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini at 7.75 percent and former youth and sports minister Adhyaksa Dault with 4.25 percent. (bbn)
