Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama was very recently poised to become the first truly independent candidate to run for the capital’s top position, but now it looks like he may run in next year’s gubernatorial election with the backing of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
After Ahok had a closed door meeting with PDI-P leader Megawati Sukarnoputri and several top party officials, the governor stated that the former president was ready to back his re-election run.
Although many still doubted whether Ahok’s claim meant that PDI-P was really seriously considering him as a candidate, PDI-P chairman Andreas H Pareira’s statements yesterday would seem to indicate that they are not just considering him but that their support is almost assured.
“We are prepared to support (Governor Ahok and Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat),” Andreas said on Thursday as quoted by MetroTV.
“Definitely, Ahok has already been accepted as the Jakarta gubernatorial candidate of PDI-P. But the decision has to go through official meetings and others,” he said.
There is certainly a chance that fractious infighting amongst PDI-P officials could still prevent Ahok from receiving the party’s official support. It is well known that there are factions within PDI-P which are vehemently against Ahok, so much so that they even sing songs about it.
However, Ahok does enjoy broad support overall within the party. According to a survey by Indo Barometer, 67.9% of PDI-P voters want Ahok to be re-elected.
And if Ahok truly does have the support of Megawati, it will take immense opposition for her to change her mind.
If Ahok did secure the backing of PDI-P, his re-election victory would be all but assured. The question is, how much would Ahok be beholden to Megawati and his other political backers after he crossed the finish line?
