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PDI-P criticized for endorsing Ahok
Siti Zuhro, a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), has slammed the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) for its last-minute decision to back Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama in Jakarta’s gubernatorial election in February 2017.
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Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama (second right, standing) and Jakarta Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat (first right, standing) pose with Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) members, such as Banten Governor Rano Karno (third right, standing), at the party's headquarters on Tuesday. The PDI-P has declared to support Ahok and Djarot in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. (JP/Callistasia Anggun Wijaya)
S
iti Zuhro, a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), has slammed the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) for its decision to back Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama in Jakarta’s gubernatorial election in February 2017.
The PDI-P’s decision showed disregard for aspirations of the people who disagreed with Ahok’s leadership, Siti claimed, adding that the PDI-P had closed its eyes to a flourishing grassroots movements in support of party figures like Surabaya mayor Tri Rismaharini.
“The PDI-P has put its credibility on the line by endorsing a controversial candidate,” Siti told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Siti said the PDI-P did not seem to have a working mechanism for recruiting candidates, because even though the party had assessed 34 potential candidates to challenge the incumbent governor and had shortlisted six figures for further consideration, the party eventually decided to back Ahok instead.
“PDI-P always says that it has a mechanism [for candidate recruitment], but they can’t prove it. If the party wants to endorse Ahok, why conduct the fit and proper test in the first place? It was just a waste of time,” she said.
The PDI-P on Monday declared its support for Ahok and his running mate Djarot Saiful Hidayat. One of the reasons for Ahok’s nomination, PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri said, was to stay true to the party’s pluralistic principles. Megawati also stressed that she used her prerogative rights as party chairwoman to nominate Ahok. (bbn)
