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SBY meeting with Ahok nothing to do with election: Dems
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Former president and Democratic Party leader Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono speaks at a press conference in Jakarta on Feb. 1. (Antara/Widodo S. Jusuf)
T
he meeting between incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who is seeking reelection, and former president and Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at a wedding party on Sunday was coincidental, a party executive has said.
Dems deputy chairman Syarif Hasan dismissed growing speculation on Monday that the meeting was politically driven and could lead to the party supporting Ahok in the Jakarta gubernatorial election’s runoff.
“At a party, we cannot limit ourselves socially. But I can assure you that there was no talk [about politics],” he said.
In a photograph circulated in the media, Ahok's wife, Veronica Tan, was seen greeting Yudhoyono's wife, Ani Yudhoyono. In the photo, the husbands are standing next to their wives, and all of them are smiling.
Ahok, who has been endorsed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the gubernatorial race, a long rival of the Democratic party, confirmed earlier on Monday that the meeting had taken place. However, he remained tight-lipped when asked about the details of their meeting, which occurred at the wedding reception of the son of business tycoon Prajogo Pangestu at Hotel Mulia in Senayan, Jakarta.
The Democratic party has yet to make public announcement regarding their stance in the election runoff, whether to support Ahok or Anies Baswedan, after Yudhoyono's son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono’s hopes of taking the capital’s top spot were crushed in the Feb. 15 first round election.
