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Analysis: Jokowi pulls all stops to stop Anies from winning Jakarta race
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Anies Baswedan (The Jakarta Post/Wienda Parwitasari)
S
urveys may put former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan as the most popular figure if he runs for reelection for the same job in November, but he will not win it, and may not even be able to contest it, if President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has anything to do with it.
To Jokowi, Anies has become something of a political nemesis in his attempt to build his own political dynasty, to sustain power and influence over the nation beyond Oct. 20 when he steps down from power after a 10-year reign. Jokowi has already got his eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka clinch the vice presidency as running mate to Prabowo Subianto, who beat Anies in the presidential race in February. The former furniture salesman has other plans for himself and other members of the family as part of this emerging political dynasty.
It is not so much the Jakarta governorship that matters to Jokowi. It is more the fact that, if Anies were to win the governorship, he would be in a strong position to contest the presidential election in 2029, making him a serious threat to Gibran’s chances. Jokowi needs to remove this threat early, almost by any means, to open the path for his 36-year-old son.
Tempo reported that in late May, Jokowi summoned the chiefs of four political parties – Gerindra, Golkar, the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) – to the presidential palace, in which he told them they should jointly nominate former West Java governor Ridwan Kamil to run head-to-head against Anies in the Jakarta governorship.
Ridwan, according to many surveys, is the second most popular figure in the Jakarta race, but the gap may be too wide for him to be able to beat hot-favorite Anies. Golkar has suggested instead that Ridwan runs for reelection for the West Java governorship, where he is almost assured of a victory, rather than running for Jakarta only to lose it to Anies.
An earlier plan to put Jokowi’s youngest son 29-year-old Kaesang Pangarep as candidate for the Jakarta election has also been scrapped for the same reason; and now Kaesang is a strong candidate to win the Central Java gubernatorial election. Bobby Nasution, who is married to Jokowi’s only daughter, is the leading candidate for the North Sumatra governorship.
On Nov. 27, voters will return to the polling stations, this time to elect the head of their local governments, comprising 34 provinces, 415 regencies and 93 mayoralties. The Jakarta governorship is one of the most important jobs, given its centrality even as it is losing its status as the nation’s capital, which is being moved to Nusantara in East Kalimantan.
