The Jakarta E-Prix steering committee has promised that this year's race will be free from the alleged politicization that marred the 2020 event, despite the fact that several politicians have some organizational capacity in connection with the race.
fter political rivalry marred last year’s event, the deputy chairman of the 2023 Formula E Jakarta steering committee has reassured the public that this year’s electric single-seater race will be free of politics.
“Regarding the Formula E race, we will make sure that it will go smoothly with no political interference, that will be over in my era,” Ahmad Sahroni, also a NasDem politician, told a press conference on Tuesday, as quoted by Tempo.co.
Colloquially known as the Jakarta E-Prix, the event was among the key programs of opposition figure Anies Baswedan during his term as Jakarta governor.
Two factions in the Jakarta City Council, the pro-government Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), however, have been vocal critics of the race.
The two parties both criticized the Rp 653 billion (US$42.8 million) in commitment fees the city paid to host the race for three years, starting in 2022.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) launched an investigation into the matter, but concerns over politicization have been raised following the commission’s inability to find sufficient evidence of corruption.
Read also: Anies answers call for summons over Formula E irregularities
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