Deputy Blitar regent Marhaenis Urip Widodo, 53, has built his political career in his native Blitar regency in East Java since he was elected as a councilor in 2004. The Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician won two other local legislative elections, in 2009 and 2014, before running as a deputy regent candidate in 2015 alongside Rijanto.

He is not the only one from his immediate family who has ventured into politics. His two wives, Halla Unariyanti, 48, and Fendriana Anitasari, 33, have each just been reelected to a second term in the simultaneous elections for the heads of neighboring villages held on Tuesday.

In the elections held in 167 villages across the regency, Halla won more than 65 percent of the votes in Bendosewu village, Talun district, while Marhaenis' second wife Fendriana gained a staggering 80 percent of votes in Wonorejo village in the same district. 

Moreover, his oldest daughter Nasa Barcelona, 26, won a seat on the Blitar Regency Council after securing 22,000 votes in the 2019 General Elections, making her the legislative candidate at the regency level with the highest number of votes across the country. All members of the family have been endorsed by the PDI-P, currently the ruling party at the national level.

“I and Mbak Uun [Halla] helped each other in this election. Our husband has been very supportive throughout the campaign for our reelections. It was easy for us to maintain communications as I only need two minutes to go home in Bendosewu village [where Halla lives],” Fendriana said on Monday.

On voting day, Marhaenis, sporting a black T-shirt and a brown pair of jeans, went to a polling station in Bendosewu village with his two daughters to cast their ballots. More than 20 black-clad men guarded the politician and his family.

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