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Jakarta Post

Stalemate sees governor going it alone for now

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan needs to go it alone for a while following a stalemate between the two parties endorsing him amid concerns that the vacant deputy governor post will disrupt his work

A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, October 12, 2018

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Stalemate sees governor going it alone for now

J

akarta Governor Anies Baswedan needs to go it alone for a while following a stalemate between the two parties endorsing him amid concerns that the vacant deputy governor post will disrupt his work.

The Gerindra Party and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) have not yet come up with a replacement for former deputy governor Sandiaga Uno, who resigned in August to run as presidential candidate and Gerindra party chief Prabowo Subianto’s running mate.

Both parties have repeatedly insisted that their candidates deserved the post.

Anies said he was overwhelmed by external activities since Sandiaga’s departure from City Hall, adding that the vacant post did not affect the administrative work because the final say was in his hands and he had officials helping him out.

However, he added that there were many meetings and events that needed to be attended by either the governor or the deputy governor.

“I’m talking about coordinating meetings, not ceremonial events.

“There were several meetings related to the 2018 Asian Para Games last week. I had to attend because I was representing the city,” Anies said on Monday.

The head of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction in the Jakarta City Council, Gembong Warsono, urged Gerindra and the PKS to nominate candidates soon.

“If it’s like this, the post will be vacant for longer. It could affect the governor’s performance because he works by himself now,” Gembong told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Bestari Barus, a councillor from the NasDem faction, said the post should not be left vacant for too long because without a deputy in tow, Anies’ work could be disrupted.

“The governor can’t be at two locations at the same time,” he added, noting that there have been several plenary meetings that had been canceled because Anies could not be present.

The Home Ministry’s director general for regional autonomy, Sumarsono, said there was no deadline to fill the vacant post.

A new replacement must fill the post if the remaining tenure is more than 18 months, according to the 2016 law on regional elections.

Anies and Sandiaga were inaugurated in October last year after claiming victory in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election.

“The deputy governor’s role is to help the governor and represent him at times when he has a hectic schedule,” Sumarsono told the Post.

Gerindra’s Jakarta executive board has agreed to nominate its chairman and deputy speaker, M. Taufik, while Prabowo’s niece, lawmaker Rahayu Sarawasti Djojohadikusumo, has also been touted as Sandiaga’s replacement.

The PKS said Prabowo had promised them the seat in return for supporting his presidential bid.

The PKS had proposed two of its members, former Bekasi mayor Ahmad Syaikhu and the party’s Jakarta executive board secretary Agung Yulianto, to prevent a head-to-head vote with Gerindra in the council.

Syarif, the deputy head of Gerindra DPD Jakarta, said the party was still waiting for a meeting with the PKS to discuss possible names they would nominate.

“There has not been a significant development yet. Both parties must be ready before holding a meeting [to discuss the nominees],” he said on Thursday.

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