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Political parties switch gears for regional polls
Political parties have begun vetting potential nominees and searching for allies for the November regional elections as disputes over the results of the February presidential race near their conclusion at the Constitutional Court.
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A cyclist rides on July 22, 2020, past a mural in Surakarta, Central Java, that calls on people to reject vote-buying. (Antara/Maulana Surya)
T
he country's political parties have begun vetting potential nominees and searching for allies for the November regional elections as disputes over the results of the February presidential race near their conclusion at the Constitutional Court.
The Nov. 27 regional elections will be the first time Indonesians simultaneously elect governors, mayors and regents across 37 of the country’s 38 provinces (excluding Yogyakarta), 416 regencies and 98 cities.
The Golkar Party, which has the second-most seats in the House of Representatives, has begun looking for possible candidates for the November polls, with more than a thousand party members, some of whom are incumbent regional heads, being tapped as potential nominees.
Prominent figures on the list include West Java governor Ridwan Kamil; his wife Atalia Praratya, who has never held public office; and Medan Mayor Bobby Nasution, the son-in-law of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
Ridwan is expected to run for governor of either West Java or Jakarta, while Atalia is projected to run for mayor of Bandung, a position her husband once held.
Bobby – who was dismissed from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) last year for supporting the presidential bid of the eventual winner, Prabowo Subianto, who ran alongside Jokowi’s son Gibran Rakabuming Raka on the rival Gerindra Party ticket – is expected to run for governor of North Sumatra.
Speaking on Saturday after Golkar’s first meeting with prospective regional electoral candidates, party chairman Airlangga Hartarto said the list would be narrowed down in the coming months after the party reviewed the potential candidates’ opinion polling figures.
