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Anies camp's running mate spat drags on
The three-way KPP alliance is looking increasingly fragile as the internal bickering over Anies' VP candidate continues to drag on.
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Former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (left) and NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh speak to reporters on July 24, 2019 at NasDem’s headquarters in Central Jakarta. (kompas.com/Ryana Aryadita Umasugi)
The ongoing spat over Anies Baswedan’s running mate between the political parties grouped in the Coalition of Change for Unity (KPP) continues to drag on, even after the former Jakarta governor said he had settled on his pick, highlighting the fragile state of the three-way electoral alliance.
Bickering between the pro-government NasDem Party and opposition parties Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) over their vice presidential pick again erupted this week, less than two months after Anies teased that he had made his choice.
NasDem made a gambit last year when it nominated Anies, widely seen as the opposition figurehead, risking its ouster from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's cabinet. The party has since repeatedly expressed concern over the future of the KPP.
On Tuesday, NasDem deputy chairman Ahmad Ali publicly called on Anies to refrain from choosing his running mate among the three party chairs in the KPP. Doing so would put NasDem, the Democrats and the PKS on an unequal footing in a clear “breach of commitment” of the electoral pact inked in March, Ali said.
Though Ali did not mention any names, many inferred his statement as a clear reference to chairman Agus Hartimurti Yudhoyono of the Democrats, which has been pushing him for Anies’ vice presidential pick.
The party also threatened to reevaluate its support for the alliance unless a running mate was declared in June.
As the KPP has intensified the search for its vice presidential candidate in recent months, ahead of the candidate registration slated to open in mid-October, Anies and Agus have flaunted their growing closeness through numerous joint appearances, leading to speculation that Anies might shortlist the Democrats’ chair.
