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Ahok no longer seeking PDI-P support
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Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama speaks to journalists after announcing his decision to contest the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election on a a party ticket (The Jakarta Post/rez)
G
overnor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama stressed on Tuesday that he would not seek endorsement from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), saying that the support of three parties is more than sufficient for him to contest the 2017 election.
“Three parties are enough. How could I register? The registration [for PDI-P candidates] has already been closed,” Ahok said at City Hall on Tuesday as reported by tribunnews.com.
The three parties – the Golkar Party, NasDem Party and Hanura Party – have a combined 24 seats in the Jakarta Council, enough to meet the gubernatorial ticket threshold of 22.
Ahok also expressed his reluctance to comment on next February’s election, saying that he would like to focus on completing his term as city governor until October.
“Don’t talk about the election anymore. We are focusing on completing our work. In fact, we have a lot of time as registration [to the elections commission] begins on Sept. 19,” said Ahok.
Representatives of Hanura Party on Monday met with PDI-P leaders to invite the city’s most powerful party to support Ahok and nominate his current deputy, Djarot Saiful Hidayat, to run alongside him again.
Acting chairman of PDI-P’s Jakarta chapter Bambang Dwi Hartono, however, said the party was still considering various factors before it decided on its gubernatorial candidate. (bbn)
