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Gibran cleared to run despite controversy
The First Son managed to escape the scrutiny of his "legally, morally and ethically defective" candidacy after the election body confirmed his eligibility to run on Monday.
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Vice presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is the eldest son of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the current Surakarta mayor, waves on Oct. 25 after registering himself for next year's presidential election with Defense Minister and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto (back to camera), in Jakarta. (Reuters/WILLY KURNIAWAN)
Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka has skirted growing pressure to stand down as a vice-presidential candidate over a “legally, morally and ethically defective” process, with the General Elections Commission (KPU) confirming that he is eligible to contest in next year’s race.
The KPU’s confirmation caps a week of hurried attempts to shoot down the candidacy of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s eldest son, who is to act as his father’s proxy as running mate to presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto.
KPU commissioner Idham Holik told a press briefing on Monday that all three presidential candidate pairings, including Prabowo and Gibran, had met all the requirements to run in the 2024 presidential election.
“After holding a closed-door plenary meeting reviewing the results of medical checkups and verifying the required documents, [...] we declare that all candidates have met the necessary requirements to contest the 2024 election,” Idham said in a press conference in Jakarta.
Prabowo and Gibran will compete against Ganjar Pranowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and his running mate, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD, as well as former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and his running mate, National Awakening Party (PKB) chair Muhaimin Iskandar.
Dozens of people staged a rally in front of the KPU building ahead of the announcement, demanding that the election body disqualify Gibran from participating in the upcoming race.
The protesters called Gibran’s candidacy “legally, morally and ethically defective”.
