Like many renowned political figures in Indonesia lately, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan is among those rumored to be a possible presidential/vice presidential candidate in next year’s election.
The rumors picked up steam over the weekend after Anies met with Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) President Sohibul Iman on Saturday. PKS is in the coalition of opposition parties that backed Anies in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election and is widely expected to join the coalition backing Gerindra Chairman Prabowo Subianto for the 2019 presidential election.
But when reporters asked Anies about his possible candidacy in 2019, the governor deflected the question with a discussion about soccer instead.
“There’s no such thing [regarding candidacy], ask about the FIFA [World Cup] first,” Anies said on Sunday, as quoted by Kompas.
(On a side note, Anies has become the anti-Paul the Octopus in Indonesia, as the teams he backed in the World Cup have all lost, spawning the viral meme below.)
In any case, both Anies and Sohibul denied that the governor is being considered for a president/vice president post, and that he should focus on Jakarta.
But a Jakarta governor leaving his post early to become president is not without its precedent in Indonesia, as President Joko Widodo did just that in 2014, just two years into his term as governor of the capital.
A recent survey showed that a pairing of Prabowo and Anies would be one of the strongest challengers to Jokowi in 2019.
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