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Jokowi denies son’s claim that he will campaign for PSI
Speaking to reporters during a working trip in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), President Jokowi said political campaigns were the PSI’s internal business and that any questions about the party's political strategy should be directed to Kaesang.
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Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) chairman Kaesang Pangarep (left) teaches supporters how to mark their ballots during a campaign event in Kediri, East Java, on Jan. 23, 2024. Kaesang told his supporters to cast their vote for then-presidential candidate pair Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka. (Antara/Prasetia Fauzani)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has repudiated a claim made by Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) chairman Kaesang Pangarep, his youngest son, that the outgoing leader will assist in the party’s campaigning for the November regional elections.
Speaking to reporters during a working trip to West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) on Thursday, Jokowi said political campaigns were the PSI’s internal business and that any questions about the party's political strategy should be directed to Kaesang.
“That’s definitely the PSI's own business," Jokowi said. “Just ask the PSI chairman”.
Jokowi was responding to a claim made by Kaesang at a party event late last week that his father had instructed PSI members to run in local and regional elections scheduled for Nov. 27, especially in regions where the party had had a decent showing in the February general election.
In a speech to prospective PSI legislative candidates, Kaesang claimed his father would lend a hand in the party's campaigning, given that Jokowi, who leaves office in October, would no longer be president during a portion of the campaign period.
The official campaign period for the November regional elections opens on Sept. 15, closes on Nov. 23 and is followed by a three-day cooling-off period before voting day.
“[There was] a message from him earlier, as I said yesterday, that he will turn up to campaign for us,” Kaesang said last week, as quoted by kompas.com.
Established in 2014, the PSI has built its brand around championing the youth and advocating for minority rights and pluralism. In recent years, however, the party has been seen as a proxy for Jokowi after it repositioned itself as the guardian of “Jokowism”.
Kaesang, an entrepreneur-turned-politician, joined the party last year and was made its chairman within days. Analysts said the move was made to ensure that Jokowi had an alternative political path following his breakup with his main sponsor, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Despite the so-called Jokowi effect, the PSI garnered only 2.8 percent of the nationwide popular vote, thereby failing to meet the 4 percent threshold to secure seats in the House of Representatives.
Since its defeat in the legislative race, the PSI has shifted its focus to the upcoming regional elections. It has been vetting prospective candidates since April 26 in a process that will end on Aug. 1, with hopes that younger candidates from the party will join the race.
“It is okay [that we failed to send representatives to the House]. This is politics; we have to be prepared to win and lose,” Kaesang said at last week’s event.
The PSI has hinted that it may nominate Kaesang to run in the Jakarta gubernatorial election, arguing that the capital city needs leadership in the mold of Jokowi, who served briefly as its governor before running for president in 2014.
The upcoming regional elections are expected to be a crowded field, with thousands of candidates vying for the 37 governor, 416 regent and 98 mayor positions up for grabs.
To join a regional race, a candidate needs the backing of a party or a coalition of parties that holds more than 25 percent of the seats in the Regional Legislative Council.
The PSI won 7.68 percent of the vote in the February legislative election, outperforming more established political parties such as the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN). (yer)
Editor's note: This article has been updated on May 3, 2024.
