erindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto joined with local residents on Wednesday to cast his ballot to choose the next West Java governor and Bogor regent at a polling station near his residence in Hambalang, Bogor.
The party's patron, who is expected to contest the presidential election next year, cast his ballot at polling station TPS 17 in Bojong Koneng village, Hambalang. Prabowo was registered as one of 453 eligible voters at the polling station.
“We hope everything goes well with the [regional election] process and the voters can elect the leaders they desire,” Prabowo told the press after voting, as reported by Kompas TV on Wednesday.
In West Java, Gerindra allied with the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) to back the candidate pair of Sudrajat and Ahmad Syaikhu, who, according to the latest polls, ranked third among four candidate pairs in terms of their electability rating.
When asked whether he was optimistic that the Sudrajat-Syaikhu pair would secure victory in West Java, Prabowo said, “Insya Allah [God’s willing], we will see.”
Many believe that Prabowo and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo both have a stake in the West Java election as it relates to their presidential bids, especially in terms of gaining the support of voters in the province, which is home to approximately 46.71 million people.
The Sudrajat-Syaikhu pair ran against three other candidates backed by parties within the pro-government coalition, making the election somewhat of a battle ground between the Prabowo and Jokowi camps, analysts have said. (ebf)
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