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Jakarta Post

Golkar declares support for Jokowi

The Golkar Party officially threw its support behind incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to run in the 2019 presidential election, a move — albeit premature — believed to be aimed at increasing its popularity

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Thu, July 28, 2016

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Golkar declares support for Jokowi

T

he Golkar Party officially threw its support behind incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to run in the 2019 presidential election, a move — albeit premature — believed to be aimed at increasing its popularity.

That political stance will be declared Thursday before the closing of a two-day leadership meeting (Rapimnas) in Jakarta.

It is the first Rapimnas since the Bali convention in May, where the party reconciled its internal conflicts.

Setya Novanto, who was elected Golkar chairman in Bali, said the support thrown behind Jokowi was a strategic step to help the party reach its target in the upcoming election to win 120 seats in the House of Representatives.

“We think that Jokowi has been doing well and we believe he can win the next presidential election,” he said on the sidelines of the meeting.

The meeting also showcased a presentation by Indonesian Survey Institution (LSI) researcher Adjie Alfaraby that aimed to convince party members that the decision to support Jokowi would benefit the party, particularly in gaining electability for candidates in the upcoming legislative and regional elections.

“By becoming the first party to throw official support, the public will automatically associate Jokowi with Golkar,” he said.

He further said Jokowi was particularly good at improving infrastructure and creating policy packages to improve the economy, two indicators he claimed to be long associated with the party.

Golkar, a ruling and dominant party in the New Order Era, has seen its popularity decline recently. In the 2014 election, it only garnered 14.75 percent of the vote and 14.45 percent in the 2009 election, far below the 21.58 percent it secured during the 2004 election.

Golkar supported Prabowo Subianto during the 2014 presidential election. Following his defeat, the party began to distance itself from Prabowo and, ultimately, left Prabowo’s Red-and-White Coalition and declared support to the Jokowi administration.

Many people considered the decision to throw support behind Jokowi now as premature and suspected it as an attempt to gain seats in the Jokowi administration. Novanto denied such allegations. But, as the public witnessed on Wednesday, Golkar member Airlangga Hartanto was appointed Industry Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle. (fac)
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