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Airlangga to remain Golkar’s presidential pick as Ridwan comes aboard
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he Golkar Party’s recruitment of West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil as its new deputy chairman earlier this week will not alter its decision to nominate chairman Airlangga Hartarto, party leaders have said.
Senior lawmaker and chair of Golkar's West Java branch Ace Hasan Syadzily said on Thursday that Ridwan supported the party's decision to back Airlangga in the 2024 presidential race.
"Pak Ridwan knows his place in Golkar. He will follow the party's directive [...]. He has also committed to campaign for Pak Airlangga's victory in the election," Ace said, as quoted by Antara.
The senior Golkar politician added that there had been no discussion of the possibility of choosing Ridwan as Airlangga's running mate.
"As Pak Airlangga himself said, it will be discussed when the time is appropriate," Ace said.
On Wednesday, Airlangga downplayed suggestions that the party planned to nominate Ridwan as vice president, insisting that any such decision would have to be discussed with Golkar’s partners within the United Indonesia Coalition (KIB), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the United Development Party (PPP).
“We will evaluate [the situation] together with Pak Emil,” said Airlangga, using Ridwan’s nickname, on the sidelines of a welcome ceremony for the governor.
Ridwan has been widely touted as a possible contender for the 2024 presidential elections, even though until Wednesday afternoon, he had no political party affiliation, a fact that fueled weeks of rumors and speculation.
Ridwan, who is polling at or near the top in most surveys imagining him as a vice presidential candidate and who was appointed as cochair of Golkar’s electoral committee, affirmed that he would support the party’s decision to nominate Airlangga for the presidency.
“This is the right moment, as now I’m prepared to serve the public in building Indonesia through a new means by joining a political party,” said Ridwan, explaining his decision to join a political party after more than 10 years in politics.
When pollster Indikator Politik asked respondents in December to pick their preference out of nine possible vice presidential candidates, Ridwan came out as the number one choice with 24.1 percent of the vote. Behind him, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno was selected by 14.8 percent of respondents and Democratic Party chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono by 13.6 percent.
As a coalition, Golkar, PAN and the PPP hold around 25 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives, enough to field a pair of candidates of their own for the 2024 presidential elections.
The Elections Law stipulates that a party or a coalition of parties must hold at least 20 percent of the seats in the House or have won at least 25 percent of the popular vote in the last election to be eligible to nominate a presidential candidate.
Analysts have said that Ridwan’s move to Golkar could be part of a long-term strategy to run in 2029. Some have suggested that the governor is seeking a ministerial position on the chance that the KIB wins the election. The post would serve as a stepping stone to the 2029 presidential election.
West Java is the most populous province in the archipelago, with 17.6 percent of the country’s 275.3 million people. West Java, Banten, Jakarta, Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java together make up 56 percent of Indonesia’s population, and 58 percent of those eligible to vote in 2024.
