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View all search results[COMMENTARY] When Governor Anies becomes a nobody next year
It is true that the Gerindra Party nominated Anies in the 2017 gubernatorial race, but 2024 will be a different story.
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Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (center) gives a speech during the launching ceremony of Jakarta Bermasker (Jakarta Wearing Mask) logo at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Feb. 3. The logo is part of the authorities' effort in educating people to adhere to the strict health protocols in order to curb the COVID-19 transmission. (Antara/M. Risyal Hidayat)
F
ive of the six provinces in densely populated Java will be led by government-appointed acting governors before the 2024 simultaneous elections.
Banten Governor Wahidin Halim’s term will expire in May 2022 and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan’s will end on Oct. 16, 2022. West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo will follow suit in 2023. As for Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, his post will remain intact because of the special status awarded to the province.
Anies, Ridwan, Khofifah and Ganjar have been touted as potential candidates for the presidency, but what can they expect if they’re not holding public office ahead of the race? The first three had hoped their reelection would provide them a platform to run for a higher office, but the political parties that control the outright majority in the House of Representatives have insisted there will be no regional elections in 2022 and 2023, as stipulated in the 2016 Regional Elections Law.
Many of Anies’ supporters suspect the parties’ recent refusal to revise the law is part of a systematic attempt to bar him from the presidential election. I disagree with them because the House passed the election bill into law in 2016, while the Jakarta election which Anies won was held in 2017.
What makes more sense is that the law was drafted with a sincere intention to better prepare for simultaneous nationwide elections in 2024. Of course, political elites had a hidden agenda, which was to prevent regional leaders from disrupting their situations, as happened with Jokowi in 2014.
Anies will officially end his term on Oct. 16, 2022, five years after he defeated then-incumbent governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama in a divisive election. Since winning the Jakarta gubernatorial post, Anies, who Jokowi dismissed as the education minister in July 2016, has emerged as a chief challenger to Jokowi.
The agreement between Jokowi and all pro-government political parties to keep the Elections Law unchanged will be devastating for 24 governors, 191 regents and 57 mayors, especially those who are bidding for a second term.
