Jokowi’s intervention in regional head elections – opinion

OThe one thing that stands out about former President Joko Widodo is his inconsistency. A month ago, when he retired as president, he vowed to go home to Solo, Central Java, and live like an ordinary person. Now he has decided to intervene in the regional main elections.

In Jakarta he gathered volunteers to support Ridwan Kamil and Suswono. Jokowi asked these people to take action during the campaign to revive the coalition’s stagnant electability.

From the beginning, Jokowi supported Ridwan for the governorship of Jakarta. Ridwan was nominated by the Golkar Party, along with several other parties grouped under the Indonesia Onward Coalition (KIM) plus. Most of these parties are members of the coalition that supported Prabowo Subianto in the recent presidential elections. Jokowi wants the governor of Jakarta to have the same vision and mission as the central government.

Under pressure from Jokowi, a number of parties also expressed their support for Ridwan, with the aim of retention Anies Baswedan from the elections in Jakarta. Anies was and is considered the biggest threat to Gibran Rakabuming Raka in the 2029 presidential elections. But Anies’ support for Pramono Anung-Rano Karno, Ridwan-Suswono’s rivals, has made the first Jakarta governor the opportunity to appear at a number of national events.

This is why Jokowi has an interest in sidelining anyone who has the potential to run against Gibran in the next presidential election. But Jokowi may have failed to consider Pramono Anung or Ridwan Kamil as potential rivals. As governor of Jakarta, the two could easily become popular in the next five years.

If Ridwan-Suswono wins the regional elections in Jakarta, it will not have been easy. A number of parties that originally joined the KIM plus grouping, such as the National Democratic Party (NasDem), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN), have already left them. From the beginning, the support of these parties was not sincere. Party leaders also complained about Ridwan’s elitist campaign style. And with a fragile coalition, the party apparatus cannot function properly. Ridwan-Suswono’s eligibility has stagnated and even declined slightly.

Polls conducted by Saiful Mujani Research and Consultancy between October 31 and November 9 showed Ridwan Kamil-Suswono with 39.1 percent electability, while Pramono Anung-Rano Karno, who is backed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P ), had risen to 46 percent. Independent duo Dharma Pongrekun and Kun Wardana came last with 5.1 percent. Survey results from other organizations are comparable. This is why Jokowi is pushing for two-round elections. But instead of increasing his electability, Jokowi’s support has hardened opposition to Ridwan.

Jokowi has provided similar support to Ahmad Luthfi-Taj Yasin Maimoen in Central Java’s regional elections. He even asked Prabowo Subianto to support Luthfi-Yasin after their electability began to diverge from that of Andika Perkasa-Hendrar Prihadi.

Prabowo’s partisanship, like that of Jokowi when he was president, is inappropriate and against the rules. Law No. 10/2016 on elections for governors, regents and mayors prohibits public officials from taking actions that benefit any combination of candidates. It is unfortunate that the General Election Monitoring Agency decided that Prabowo’s video was not a violation of the rules.

A presidential preference for a particular combination could be interpreted by subordinates as a direct order. This partisanship opens the door to abuse of power and deviates from the principles of fair and healthy political conflict.

The interventions from Prabowo and Jokowi are a reflection of the weak programs of the regional main candidates. And the dependence on the support of the political elite also shows that they are unable to gain votes by proposing clear visions and missions. Instead of offering solutions, they are busy selling themselves under the names of the president and former president.

Prabowo Subianto should not parrot Jokowi’s wishes. Agreeing to Jokowi’s desire to sideline potential rivals to Gibran in the 2029 general election could end Prabowo’s chance to serve two terms. Apart from issues of political competition, if Prabowo does not intervene in the regional elections, he will be respected for respecting the constitution and the principles of democracy.