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Jakarta gubernatorial election most anticipated event on Wednesday
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Workers sort and fold ballots for the 2017 Jakarta election at a logistics warehouse of the Central Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPU) on Jan.24. (Antara/Widodo S. Jusuf)
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fter a four-month campaign period, millions of people across the country are expected to cast their votes in simultaneous regional elections on Wednesday.
Among the 101 elections being held in 101 provinces, regencies and cities, the Jakarta gubernatorial election is the most anticipated.
Hendri Satrio, a political expert from Paramadina University, said that what happened in the 2014 presidential election gave people strong reason to believe that the Jakarta election would play an important role in setting the political stage for the 2019 presidential election.
In 2014, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo decided to run in the presidential election, leaving the Jakarta governor seat to his deputy, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who is now running in the Jakarta election.
“Many people believe that whoever wins the Jakarta election will have a strong start to run as a 2019 presidential candidate. That’s a lesson we learned from Jokowi,” Hendri said.
(Read also: How Jakarta election contenders await D-day after end of campaign)
With Jakarta located on Java, it is considered the main battleground for every presidential election as more than half of the country’s population lives on the island, he added.
Moreover, Hendri said that although the three candidates running in this year’s Jakarta gubernatorial election claimed they were not tempted to run for president and vice president, anything could happen in politics.
“Just look at Jokowi. He said he did not want to run in the 2014 election, but fact shows otherwise,” he said. (trw)
