Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has said Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok), his main supporters, are requiring the three political parties that have expressed support for him for the 2017 gubernatorial election to produce written commitments.
overnor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has said Teman Ahok (the Friends of Ahok), his main supporters, are requiring the three political parties that have expressed support for him for the 2017 gubernatorial election to produce written commitments.
"Later, the political parties that support me will meet Teman Ahok. There must be a kind of an official letter [of support], whose form will be decided later," Ahok said at City Hall on Monday, referring to the Hanura Party, the NasDem Party and the Golkar Party.
The three parties have expressed their support for Ahok, regardless of whether the governor will run as an independent candidate or with a nomination from the political parties for the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Since the beginning, Teman Ahok, who had collected the 1 million photocopies of Jakarta voters’ IDs required for him to run as an independent candidate, have expressed worry that the political parties may not commit to support him, Ahok said.
If there is no such a commitment, Teman Ahok will go ahead with preparations for Ahok’s independent path, including to prepare for the factual verification process, the governor added.
At an event on Sunday, a Teman Ahok founder had expressed the group's readiness to communicate with political parties that support Ahok to discuss Ahok’s nomination as a candidate for governor.
"We're ready to communicate with political parties and find the best way for the Ahok candidacy. We hope the political party won't only declare support, but undertake real action in supporting Ahok," said Teman Ahok founder Aditya Yogi Prabowo.
Teman Ahok were never against politic parties, while the action by the group's volunteers to collect copies of IDs only aimed to channel the aspirations of the people who want to support Ahok, said Yogi. (bbn)
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