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‘I’m just a bridge’: Jokowi downplays meeting with Surya Paloh
Following widespread criticisms alleging the President's meddling in the 2024 general election, Jokowi said he was simply acting as "a bridge" in post-election coalition talks.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (right) and First Lady Iriana Widodo cast their votes during the presidential and legislative elections on Feb. 14, 2024 at a polling station located at the State Administration Agency in Central Jakarta. (AFP/Mas Agung Wilis)
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has played down his meeting on Sunday night with chairman Surya Paloh of the NasDem Party, which led the electoral alliance backing presidential ticket Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar.
Jokowi said his meeting with Surya was only the start of coalition building efforts after the general election on Feb. 14, and that his role was simply as mediator.
“This is just the beginning. When it has been finalized, we will [make an announcement]. But I’m actually just a bridge. The most important thing is [communication among] political parties,” the President told reporters on Monday after inaugurating the Commander in Chief Soedirman National Defense Central Hospital (RSPPN) in Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta.
“I want to be a bridge for all. Politics [after the election] is the authority of political parties,” he added.
President Jokowi has been heavily criticized for demonstrating an apparent bias for Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who ran for the presidency alongside Jokowi’s eldest son, Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
Quick count results from pollsters and an unofficial tally from the General Elections Commission (KPU) indicate that the pair, who had been leading surveys during campaigning, is set to win the election by an overwhelming 58 percent of the vote.
The unofficial results show Anies-Muhaimin at a distant second with 25 percent and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) tailing at 17 percent.
