The two parties, which backed the ticket of the now elected Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno in the election last year, agreed last week to give the PKS the authority to name one of its politicians to fill in the deputy governor seat left vacant in August when Sandiaga started his run as vice-presidential candidate with presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto, who is Gerindra’s chairman.

During the meeting, the two parties also agreed to establish a joint body tasked with assessing the candidates for deputy governor through a confirmation hearing or a “fit and proper test”.

PKS member and City Council Deputy Speaker Triwisaksana said the confirmation hearing was unnecessary and would only demean his party’s politicians and lengthen the waiting period for a new deputy governor.

“It will create a notion that PKS politicians are [somehow] incapable. Gerindra only needs to approve the names we propose and let the council decide,” he said on Thursday. “What’s the point of determining whether the candidates pass the confirmation hearing?”

The PKS is to propose to the City Council that its members Ahmad Syaikhu and Agung Yulianto for the deputy governor position. The 53-year-old Ahmad was chosen because of his bureaucratic experience as he had served as Bekasi deputy mayor in West Java before running for deputy governor in the province’s gubernatorial election this year, while Agung was nominated because of his background as a businessman in the consumer goods sector. Ahmad said he was ready to undergo the confirmation hearing to fill the Jakarta deputy governor’s seat.

“God willing, I will look back at my experience as deputy mayor in Bekasi. [I will discuss policies] that can benefit Jakarta during the test,” Ahmad told The Jakarta Post recently.

He lauded the capital’s various flagship programs, such as the zero down payment housing scheme and the OK OCE entrepreneurship program, saying that Jakartans needed them.

Ahmad also said he would help Anies implement and develop the aforementioned programs should he be appointed deputy governor.

“The most important thing is to develop harmony between the governor, deputy governor, City Council and other stakeholders, so we can collaborate well,” Ahmad said.

For Agung, what mattered was that the deputy governor post be filled by a PKS politician.

Meanwhile, Syarif, Gerindra Jakarta’s deputy chairman, said the test was a perquisite to determine whether the candidates would be capable of leading the capital for the remaining four years. He added that an assessment team would be formed next week so the candidates could be proposed by the end of this year.

“There are only three simple criteria. We want to make sure that they are known by Jakarta residents and understand the problems of the city, are committed to help and work together with Anies and to uphold people’s interest above party,” he said.

Anies previously said he wanted a deputy who would help him carry out his vision and mission.

“Don’t bring your own vision,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jakartans have been expecting the new deputy governor to be able to bring improvements to city, which was polarized by a divisive election last year. Eka Kristanto, 23, a teacher at a state school in Jakarta, said he expected the PKS and Gerindra to immediately settle their disagreement and to put the interest of the public above everything else.

“I want a deputy governor who can bring peace to the city, particularly because the concurrent election is around the corner,” he said, referring to the simultaneous presidential and legislative elections next year. “The candidates should embrace diversity in Jakarta and not endorse a certain political movement from certain groups.”

Darugiono, 67, a resident of Rawamangun in Pulogadung, East Jakarta, said that filling the vacant deputy governor seat was an urgent need, given that there were numerous problems the city was facing on a daily basis.

“I have been led by various governors and it’s clear to me a governor alone can’t handle all of the city’s problems. The tasks to oversee the city needs to be divided,” he said.

Darugiono highlighted some of the administration’s promises to ease traffic congestion and mitigate the effect of annual floods.

“We are entering the rainy season. We need a leader to coordinate efforts to anticipate the floods,’ he said.

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