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Analysis: Prabowo, Jokowi pull strings in regional head elections
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Congenial: Former president Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo and President Prabowo Subianto pose for a photograph in Surakarta on Nov. 3. (The Jakarta Post/Twitter/Jokowi)
T
he competition is heating up ahead of the regional head elections, especially in provinces where candidates supported by President Prabowo Subianto’s Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM) are facing off against candidates of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). However, Prabowo’s open support for KIM-backed candidates has called into question the neutrality expected of the head of state.
One such region is Central Java, a traditional stronghold of the PDI-P, where the PDI-P ticket of former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Andika Perkasa and running mate Hendrar “Hendi” Prihadi are up against former Central Java Police chief Ahmad Luthfi and running mate ex-deputy governor Taj Yasin, who are backed by the 12-party KIM alliance led by Prabowo’s Gerindra Party.
Prabowo publicly expressed his support for Luthfi-Yasin in a video message uploaded on Nov. 9 to the pair’s social media account, a move that some speculate was prompted by former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s response to Andika-Hendi’s soaring electability in the province. Before Prabowo’s public endorsement of Luthfi-Yasin, Jokowi met informally with Luthfi just days after PDI-P matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri visited the PDI-P’s Central Java headquarters.
According to a survey released in early November by the Kompas daily’s research division, Litbang Kompas, Andika-Hendi had a rating of 28.8 percent, with Luthfi-Yasin right on their tail at 28.1 percent. Another poll by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC), also released in the first week of November, also found that Andika-Hendi was ahead with 48.1 percent against Luthfi-Yasin’s 47.5 percent.
Jokowi’s strained relationship with Megawati is one reason for him to challenge the PDI-P’s control over Central Java, but it is also public knowledge that Luthfi is a Jokowi loyalist.
Whether the former president still has the clout to influence the regional elections’ outcome remains to be seen. Nonetheless, Prabowo’s immediate support for KIM-backed candidates in several regions has raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest. While the State Palace has stated that Prabowo was endorsing certain candidates in his capacity as Gerindra chair, this still means the head of state is exhibiting partisanship.
The same situation has unfolded in Bali, another PDI-P stronghold, where the gubernatorial race will see a face-off between PDI-P pair Wayan Koster and running mate I Nyoman Giri Prasta against Made Muliawan Arya and running mate Putu Agus Suradnyana (PAS), who are backed by the larger KIM Plus alliance.
