TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Anies to answer 'call of duty' if nominated for 2024
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan visits the offices of The Jakarta Post in Palmerah, West Jakarta, on Friday. (JP/Abdur Rahim)
O
utgoing Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan is prepared to embark on a new political journey and answer the “call of duty” if nominated as a candidate for the 2024 elections – whether for the presidency or another term in Jakarta.
Anies, who is not affiliated with any party, said he was “ready to step up” if a political party chose to field him.
"I am getting ready at the moment. If [a party decides] to nominate me, I'll take it as a call of duty. I will do it," he said during an interview with The Jakarta Post on Friday. "I'm open to both [gubernatorial and presidential elections].”
Anies, who will end his term as governor in October, noted that he would be prepared to join a political party to facilitate the run.
The Constitution does not allow independent candidates for the presidency, and the General Elections Law requires a political party or a coalition of parties to control at least 20 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives to be eligible to nominate a presidential candidate.
"If I am nominated [to run for president], I am required to join a political party. It's like you should have a company if you want to bid on a construction project. Of course I will do it; it's part of my responsibility." he said.
Anies is one of the few prospective presidential contenders who is not affiliated with a party. He has consistently ranked in the top three possible candidates for the presidency in public opinion polls, alongside Defense Minister and Gerindra Party chair Prabowo Subianto and popular Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
