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Ahok reaffirms independent candidacy
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Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjajaha Purnama speaks to journalists at City Hall. (Kompas.com/Kurnia Sari Aziza)
G
overnor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has reaffirmed he will run as an independent candidate although the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-I) has hinted that it may support him in the 2017 gubernatorial election.
Ahok said on Friday he appreciated the efforts of Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok), whose volunteers had worked hard to collect photocopies of identity cards of Jakartans required by law for individuals wanting to run on an independent ticket.
“If they [Teman Ahok] manage to collect one million photocopies, I will directly go to Teman Ahok and thank them personally for their efforts,” said Ahok as reported by kompas.com.
Teman Ahok has reportedly managed to collect more than 900,000 photocopies of ID cards, exceeding the required number of 532,000.
Ahok, however, encouraged his supporters to collect at least one million ID copies to convince him that Jakarta really wanted him to be reelected.
A PDI-P politician, Charles Honoris stressed that Ahok and Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat are the best gubernatorial pair for the 2017 election.
“Pak Ahok and Pak Djarot complement each other. Their main success is the bureaucratic reform within the city administration,” Charles said, praising them as a potentially dynamic team to lead the capital.
Both Ahok and Djarot had made similar statements that they could be paired in the 2017 election, but Djarot, who is also a PDI-P politician, also insisted that their candidacy was only possible if they were nominated by his party, not as independents. (bbn)
