Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has politely rejected the latest offer from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to run on its ticket in Jakarta’s election next year.

The incumbent said he was a close friend of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri but would continue in his bid to contest the 2017 gubernatorial election as an independent candidate.

“Since the beginning of the reform era, I have never been a PDI-P member. But it is clear that I am a Megawati man,” Ahok said in response to PDI-P’s overtures.

He said Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok) volunteers had collected some 940,000 identity cards of Jakarta voters, more than enough than required by law for him to run as an independent candidate.

“Those ID photocopies will be verified [by the Jakarta Election Commission]. There is a possibility of failure, but we will go ahead [with the plan],” Ahok told journalists at City Hall on Tuesday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Ahok said he believed Megawati would nominate the best candidate for the people of Jakarta.

“I know she will give the best governor to Jakarta’s people. We will just wait [for her decision]. She has not yet made a decision,” Ahok added.

Previously, PDI-P politician Aria Bima urged Ahok to run as a candidate for his party, which still had the door open for his nomination if he abandoned the independent path. A similar statement came from another PDI-P politician, Andreas Hugo Pareira. (bbn)

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