TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
PKB, NU nominate Saifullah Yusuf for 2018 gubernatorial election
Change Size
All ready: East Java Deputy Governor Saifullah Yusuf talks to journalists about his nomination for governor in the 2018 gubernatorial election at his office in Surabaya, East Java, on May 25. (JP/Wahyoe Boediwardhana)
T
he National Awakening Party’s (PKB) East Java regional executive board has nominated East Java Deputy Governor Saifullah Yusuf to run in the 2018 gubernatorial election.
The decision goes against expectation that the board’s chairman, Abdul Halim Iskandar, would be nominated for governor.
Halim had long declared his intention to run in the 2018 gubernatorial election and claimed that he was supported by 38 PKB branches across East Java.
“Because all ulemas and Muslim leaders from across East Java have come to an agreement, I’m calling on the executive board to follow through with nominating Saifullah Yusuf as its gubernatorial candidate. Pak Halim should accept wholeheartedly what the ulemas have decided because the PKB is a party that is loyal and obedient to the words of ulemas,” said Muhaimin during a meeting attended by 1,421 NU ulemas and leaders at the Bhumi Sholawat Islamic boarding school in Lebo district, Sidoarjo, on Thursday.
Muhaimin, who is also the younger brother of Halim, said the decision to nominate Saifullah was based not only on the order of NU ulemas but also logical reasoning. Perceived to have vast experience in governance, Saifullah graduated from an NU Islamic boarding school.
East Java has never been led by an NU member, he said. “If the nomination is successful, Gus Ipul [Saifullah Yusuf] will become the first governor from the PKB,” said Muhaimin. (ebf)
