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NasDem hints at withdrawing support from Anies in Jakarta race
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Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (left) and NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh (right) speak to reporters at the NasDem Party headquarters in Central Jakarta in this undated photo. (kompas.com/Ryana Aryadita Umasugi)
NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh has given his strongest signal yet that his party is now considering calling off its early support for the reelection bid of popular former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and instead exploring the possibility of endorsing his already heavily favored potential rival: Ridwan Kamil.
“I’d say it will be hard for Anies to place his bid in the Jakarta election,” Surya said on Wednesday on the sidelines of an event at the State Palace.
“We know that NasDem is not eligible to field a candidate alone [without forming an alliance with other parties].”
There are no parties in the city that meet the nomination threshold of controlling at least 20 percent of seats on the Jakarta City Council to be eligible to register a candidate pair on their own with the General Elections Commission’s (KPU) Jakarta office starting from Aug. 27.
Surya later hinted at switching sides to the ever-growing Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM), which has begun to coalesce around the bid of Ridwan, a former West Java governor who has emerged as one of only a few names to possibly match Anies’ popularity.
Read also: Parties begin to unify behind Ridwan as Anies’ candidacy grows uncertain
KIM and NasDem were on opposite sides in the February presidential race. KIM was behind the victory of president-elect Prabowo Subianto, who defeated NasDem candidate Anies and another unsuccessful presidential candidate.
