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Jakarta governor hopefuls court Anies supporters as election nears
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Officials of the Central Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPU) hold a banner for voter registration at the Car-Free Day event in Jakarta on Sept. 8, 2024, to persuade Jakarta voters to cast their votes in the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election, slated for Nov. 27. (Antara/Muhammad Iqbal)
With former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan out of the running for the city’s gubernatorial election, the remaining hopefuls are courting his supporters, who make up a large share of Jakarta’s voters.
The city is looking at a potential three-horse race, with two political party-backed nominees and one independent waiting to be cleared to run by the General Elections Commission (KPU), with an announcement on the matter expected on Sept. 22.
Despite not being official gubernatorial candidates yet, the hopefuls and their running mates have started promoting themselves and sharing their plans for the city struggling with congestion and pollution.
Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung and his running mate, actor Rano Karno, for instance, have been making appearances around the city in recent weeks, including at Jakarta’s popular Car-Free Day on Sundays. The pair, backed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), have bumped into Anies multiple times at the events.
Despite both sides claiming to have met only by chance, political analyst Ujang Komarudin told The Jakarta Post that their warm exchanges appeared to be “a smooth attempt to align themselves with Anies’ huge number of supporters”.
In public opinion polls, Anies had consistently come out as a top candidate for Jakarta governor, but he was left out of the competition when the parties backing him abandoned the former governor for the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM), which is backing former West Java governor Ridwan Kamil and his running mate Suswono for the Jakarta race.
