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Ganjar says he can win presidency without Jokowi support
"Siding with the small... the poor. Why do I say that? Because I myself experienced that situation since childhood," the ruling party candidate told AFP in an exclusive interview.
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This picture taken on January 3, 2024 shows presidential candidate and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo gesturing during an interview in Jakarta. (AFP/Adek Berry)
In an upscale area of the capital Jakarta, Ganjar Pranowo says he can win the upcoming election against the odds by focusing on bread-and-butter issues, a lesson learned from his upbringing in a mountainside village.
"Siding with the small... the poor. Why do I say that? Because I myself experienced that situation since childhood," the ruling party candidate told AFP in an exclusive interview.
"The matters are simple. Access to education, access to health, access to housing, access to food, which they want to get equally like others."
The former governor of Central Java will face defence minister and frontrunner Prabowo Subianto and former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan in February in a vote that will decide which will lead the world's third-largest democracy.
Ganjar's humble demeanour is a stark contrast to the political dynasties and ex-military figures with deep roots in the Suharto era who have dominated Indonesian politics since the end of the dictator's three-decade rule in 1998.
The 55-year-old Ganjar is the candidate for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which has ties to one of the country's founding fathers.
But Prabowo, 72, chose Jokowi's eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, as his running mate, casting doubt on Ganjar's chances as the benefit of a link to the president goes to his main rival.
