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Ahok welcomes Risma as possible rival
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Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini is all smiles during a meeting with her fellow female mayors who are participants of PreCon III UN-Habitat during a meeting of Asia Pacific Mayors in Surabaya, East Java on July 24. (Antara/Zabur Karuru)
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akarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama says he welcomes Surabaya mayor Tri Rismaharini as a possible rival in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election following mounting support for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician to join the race.
Ahok said he would not pay too much attention to the other candidates. He welcomed all capable regional leaders to run in next year's election for the betterment of the capital.
"If residents can find a person better than me, but they still choose me that means they are stupid. You have to choose someone who is better than me, especially someone who has a more transparent system so the Jakarta can have fast development," he told journalists at City Hall on Friday.
(Read also : Regional Elections Law holding me hostage: Ahok)
Despite saying multiple times that she would stay in Surabaya, there has been rising support for Risma to compete in the Jakarta election.
Many have interpreted comments Risma made on Thursday, in which she publicly apologized for her administration’s mistakes and said that these were her last days, as a hint of her plans to contest the Jakarta election. However, Surabaya administration spokesman Muhammad Fikser refuted this interpretation, say that the apology was related to the approaching end of the month of Syawal in the Islamic calendar, as reported by kompas.com. (rin)
