TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
In Gibran’s mayoral bid, pressure is on for PDI-P
Observers said PDI-P would find it awkward to turn down the President’s son. On the other hand, approving Gibran may stir a few feathers at the party’s Surakarta office.
Change Size
Food entrepreneur Gibran Rakabuming Raka during a cooking event on July 22, 2018, in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. (JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)
T
he ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has started to feel the pressure of next year’s regional elections as the son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who is a party member, has applied to run in Surakarta’s mayoral race in Central Java.
The President’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, filed his application to the party’s Central Java office in Semarang on Thursday after the party’s municipality office declined his bid.
The 32-year-old food entrepreneur, who had approached PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, arrived with about 100 supporters who wore T-shirts bearing caricatures of the country’s national heroes.
"I have officially registered myself as a potential candidate for [Surakarta] mayor for the 2020-2025 period. I am grateful for your support. I owe this to you and will pay my debt with policies that aim to improve the welfare of [Surakarta’s] people," Gibran said in front of his supporters.
Gibran decided to run after a survey by Surakarta-based Slamet Riyadi University (Unisri) in July showed that he had a popularity rating of 90 percent, surpassing Deputy Mayor Achmad Purnomo who had been planning to run as mayor. However, the survey also found that Gibran still lagged behind Achmad in terms of acceptability and electability.
The PDI-P’s Surakarta office later declined his application, saying that it had already granted a nomination for Achmad. Gibran, who was still eager to pursue the mayoral race, later approached the party’s national figures, including Megawati, and decided to file an application through the provincial party office.
PDI-P politician Puan Maharani, Megawati’s daughter, responded positively to Gibran’s application.
