The Jakarta Regional Council (DPRD) is holding a plenary session today to publicly announce the end of Governor Anies Baswedan’s term in office next month.
Anies’ five-year term began in 2017 when he bested his predecessor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama amid the latter’s blasphemy scandal. The sitting governor’s term officially ends on Oct. 16, 2022.
Ordinarily, elections for the top Jakarta job would have been held this year, but they have been pushed back to 2024 to comply with a mandate for regional, executive, and legislative elections to be held simultaneously. During that time, a caretaker appointed by DPRD will take Anies’ seat.
After announcing the end of Anies’ term, the nine factions within DPRD will then each recommend three temporary replacements for the governor. They will then vote to determine the top three candidates, whose applications will be forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs for further deliberation.
Among the favorites for the job are Presidential Secretariat Chief Heru Budi Hartono and Jakarta Regional Secretary Marullah Mattali.
Anies may run again for governor in 2024 as he has only served one of the two maximum terms allowed by law. However, he has not publicly stated his intention to do so just yet.
That may be the most sensible move for his political career at the moment, as Anies has been hotly tipped to be among the frontrunners for the presidency in 2024 if recent surveys serve as any indication.
