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Ma'ruf Amin's son announces bid for Banten gubernatorial election
Syauqi said that he had decided to run in the gubernatorial election after also securing support from senior Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) clerics in the province, as well as a blessing from his father.
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National Awakening Party (PKB) politician Ahmad Syauqi speaks to reporters on May 20, 2024 in Serang, Banten. (The Jakarta Post/Antara)
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hmad Syauqi, the son of outgoing Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, has announced his bid for the Banten gubernatorial election after securing political backing from the National Awakening Party (PKB).
Syauqi said that he had decided to run in the gubernatorial election after also securing support from senior Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) clerics in the province, as well as a blessing from his father.
"I often talk with him. His message to me is to secure Banten and to push the province in a better direction," Syauqi said, as quoted by Antara on Monday after a presentation of his campaign platform in Serang, Banten.
Syauqi said that he had been in communication with senior NU clerics in the province in the past two years and that initially he expected to run as deputy governor before the senior leadership of the PKB in Banten convinced him to join the race as gubernatorial candidate.
"Initially it was up for the deputy governor's position but the PKB told me to run as governor. I also asked them if I should run with the support of other political parties," he said.
Syauqi's father is a prominent NU cleric in Banten and served as chairman of the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) before being picked as vice president by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in 2019.
Syauqi himself was inducted as a member of the PKB's central board in 2019 shortly after Jokowi's declaration of Ma'ruf running as his vice presidential candidate.
In the Feb. 14 legislative election, the PKB secured 10 seats in the Banten Provincial Legislative Council and to allow the party to nominate a gubernatorial ticket in the November regional election it would have to build an alliance with other political parties.
Regional election law requires that a political party or coalition of political parties controls 20 percent of seats in the local legislature to be able to run in a gubernatorial election.
