T

he 2019 legislative election is a race to watch: Five children of former presidents are set to run for seats in the House of Representatives.

Guruh Soekarnoputra, the son of first president Sukarno; Hutomo “Tommy” Mandala Putra and Siti “Titiek” Hediati Hariyadi, the children of Soeharto; Puan Maharani, the daughter of Megawati Soekarnoputri, and Edhie “Ibas” Baskoro Yudhoyono, the youngest son of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, are among 8,370 legislative candidates registered by the General Elections Commission (KPU). Meanwhile, Sukarno’s granddaughter Puti Guntur will also run for legislative office.

Sukarno’s kin will represent the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), led by Megawati, while Ibas will seek a second term representing his father’s Democratic Party. Tommy and Titiek, both of whom used to be members of the Golkar Party, which had long been associated with their late father’s New Order administration, will run on a new political vehicle founded and led by Tommy, the Berkarya Party.

The former presidential children, most of whom reside in upmarket areas of Jakarta, will run in different electoral districts far from the capital. All of them will run in electoral districts of Java, except for Tommy, who will run in an electoral district of Papua. He chose Papua for sentimental reasons, he said. His middle name “Mandala” came from the Mandala Command, a campaign established by Sukarno and led by Soeharto to integrate Irian Barat (the old name of Papua) into Indonesia.

As children of former presidents, their popularity has been established. Some of them have already built strong political careers. Puan, for example, currently serves as the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs in the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who was endorsed by the PDI-P, among other parties.

Observers believe they will most likely win, regardless of their campaign strategies, but that does not mean they can simply rest on their laurels.

Digital marketing strategist Nukman Luthfie says these figures, who are not all young, need to also polish up their image, especially on social media, to lure young voters. Of the five, only Ibas, the youngest of all, had optimized the use of his personal social media accounts for his campaign.

Through his Instagram handle @ibasyudhoyono, Ibas frequently uploads pictures of his involvement in community activities, which garner mostly positive comments from his followers. The account has more than 500,000 followers.

Ibas also frequently publicizes his activities with the Yudhoyonos, including his parents, his wife Aliya Rajasa and their three children, using sentimental hashtags such as #happylife and #lifeisbeautiful to establish his image as a family man.

Tommy and Puan have their own social media accounts, but rarely update them. However, their online presence has been boosted by social media influencers, who often share positive tweets about them.

Titiek has appeared in the media every now and then, and on a number of occasions has highlighted the legacy of her father. Through her personal Twitter account @TitiekSoeharto, she describes herself as “the daughter of Grand General Soeharto (Indonesia’s second president), the chairwoman of the Berkarya Party’s advisory council, the chairwoman of Perpani (the Indonesian Archery Association) and the chairwoman of YSRI (the Indonesian Arts Foundation).” She regularly shares her social activities, including visiting survivors of the Lombok earthquakes in West Nusa Tenggara. Titiek has 128,000 followers on Twitter.

Although a digital presence in social media might only have a small impact on voters’ decision-making processes, Nukman believes it is still necessary for the candidates to show a positive persona on the internet.

“Nowadays, people refer to the internet for a lot of things. Suppose these candidates win the legislative election, they still need the public’s trust to keep their seats safe,” he said.

Sharing that view, political communications expert Lely Arrianie emphasized the importance of building a positive, independent persona, even though each of these candidates already had established a strong personal brand as a former first child.

“It would not be wise [for them] to pin their chances of winning on their parents’ reputations only,” she said.