Popular education and health programs introduced during Jokowi’s governorship have elevated his popularity. City bureaucratic reform through open recruitment for strategic positions, which Jokowi also introduced, has further boosted Ahok’s popularity. Dismissals of officials deemed as lacking integrity and performance indicate Ahok’s seriousness to improve his administration’s performance.

Further, many perceive him as consistent in fighting corruption. Some have tried to link him with cases, such as those pertaining to the acquisition of plots of land for hospitals and low-cost apartments, but investigators of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) failed to find evidence pointing to clear signs of graft.

Therefore, Ahok’s potential contenders and their supporting political parties need to work extra hard to form strategies to defeat him in next year’s gubernatorial election.

Ahok is supported by the Golkar Party, the Hanura Party, the NasDem Party and of course Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok), a group of supporters who collected the 1 million vote pledges required for him to run as an independent candidate — before he finally jumped onto the political party wagon.

Even the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which was disappointed by Ahok when he decided to become an independent candidate in March, is still considering throwing support behind him, although it is also looking for an alternative candidate.

Only the Gerindra Party has announced businessman Sandiaga Uno as its gubernatorial candidate, noting that he could be downgraded to become a deputy gubernatorial candidate if the PDI-P wanted to propose a stronger figure.

The PDI-P is the largest political party able to nominate a gubernatorial ticket without a coalition. The other smaller ones are therefore waiting for its decision.

But is Ahok really that strong and undefeatable?

The latest survey by Indo Barometer held last month may be able to answer the question. Thirty-five percent of respondents said that they would vote for Ahok as the next governor. Other candidates got less than 5 percent of the vote. However, 54.9 percent of respondents had not made a decision. This suggests that most voters are still waiting for a better candidate.

Despite his popularity and integrity, the incumbent also has weaknesses that may be exploited by his political rivals. His decision to collect contributions from reclamation developers, while the legal basis was still being deliberated at the City Council, was his first blunder, although many believe he was not trying to enrich himself.

Another odd policy is allowing property developers to violate regulations with regard to the building floor coefficient (KDB) and building height as long as they paid compensation in the form of constructing city infrastructure such as the overpass at the Semanggi cloverleaf. This seems good for city infrastructure improvement, but such violations will eventually seriously jeopardize the already devastating city environment.

Meanwhile, Ahok’s decision to leave the independent ticket path has sparked disappointment in many that helped him collect vote pledges. His readiness to cooperate with political parties, those with questionable credibility, could also be a boomerang for his own credibility. But many may accept Ahok’s reasoning that the independent path is made impossible by the House of Representatives.

Therefore, Ahok’s selling point is still his credibility and his strong stance against corruption. How many actually care about the long-term impact of such questionable urban development policies?

Still, Ahok’s challengers should be those of undoubted credibility. Many figures deserve to be given opportunity to run as the capital’s next leader.

If the PDI-P wants to have its own candidate, it should be ready to explore more candidates. The best choice for the PDI-P is Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini, who is considered a successful regional leader with unquestionable credibility thus far. When seeking a second term last year, she won 86.22 percent of the vote in the election.

She previously rejected the idea of taking part in the Jakarta gubernatorial race, saying that she would rather focus on her position as mayor of Indonesia’s second- largest city. But, just recently Risma hinted she would accept the nomination, following mounting support, not only from the PDI-P and other political parties but also from a number of resident groups.

 “If I am nominated as a Jakarta gubernatorial candidate, it must be God’s wish,” she said.

But there are still other choices of regional leaders, such as Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, Bantaeng Regent Nurdin Abdullah, Banyuwangi Regent Abdullah Azwar Anas, Bojonegoro Regent Suyono and Batang Regent Yoyok R. Sudibyo.

In fact, several other figures with a national reputation, such as former KPK commissioner Bambang Widjojanto and former culture and education minister Anies Baswedan could become alternative candidates of fairly high credibility in the public eye.

It is true Ahok is the strongest candidate right now, but he is not undefeatable, particularly if the PDI-P and challenging parties really explore the existing stock of credible figures. Certainly, they need to work harder to introduce other strong figures, by showing their distinguished track records to Jakarta voters if they fail to nominate Bu Risma.

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The writer is a journalist at The Jakarta Post.

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