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PSI puts up roadside poster supporting Kaesang bid for Depok mayor
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Kaesang Pangarep, the youngest child of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. (Kaesang Pangarep's YouTube/File)
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head of the regional elections next year, a local branch of the Indonesia Solidarity Party (PSI) in Depok, West Java, joined a recent bandwagon looking to support an idea to nominate President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s son Kaesang Pangarep as mayor of the city.
"Over the past two months, our members have sounded out this proposal to the people of Depok and it turns out many have welcomed it enthusiastically,” Icuk Pramana Putra, a senior member of the PSI’s Depok office, said on Monday, as quoted by kompas.com.
“We are optimistic the PSI can have six seats in the Depok Legislative Council during the 2024 general elections. With that, we will try our best to ensure Kaesang will have a run to lead Depok for the next five years,” he added.
The PSI’s Depok office has put up a roadside poster featuring Kaesang’s picture holding a rose, a nod to the party’s own logo, on Jl. Margonda, one of the city’s main thoroughfares. The banner stated “PSI menang, walikota Kaesang” or “a win for PSI, a mayoral run for Kaesang”.
Kaesang currently is not a member of any political parties.
“Erecting the banner was the [PSI’s] regional branch’s initiative,” Icuk said. “[We purposely chose Jl. Margonda] as a criticism because this whole time the Depok administration has been Margonda-focused,” Icuk said.
PSI is a non-legislature party at the national level but a fervent supporter of Jokowi and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the country’s largest party of which Jokowi is a member.
Read also: Local PDI-P politicians support Kaesang bid for Depok mayor
In April, the Depok office of the ruling PDI-P said it was open to the idea of seeing Kaesang run for mayor, and even picked his potential running mate if he decided to run in the local election.
Also in April, a group of people describing themselves as supporters of Central Java Governor and PDI-P presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo declared support for Kaesang's mayoral bid in Depok.
Kaesang’s older brother, Surakarta Mayor and PDI-P politician Gibran Rakabuming Raka, has recently been making waves on the national stage, amid speculations a potential gubernatorial run for Jakarta or Central Java is on the cards.
[RA::/indonesia/2023/05/22/gibran-summoned-by-pdi-p-central-board-following-meeting-with-prabowo.html]
Gibran was summoned by PDI-P on Monday following his meeting with Gerindra Party chair and presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto.
Numerous party leaders have continued to meet with Gibran during their visit to Surakarta.
