Jokowi on campaign trail as preferred candidates lag in regional polls

JAKARTA: As candidates backed by the ruling coalition face tough competition in the key battlegrounds of Jakarta and Central Java, former President Joko Jokowi Widodo officially hit the campaign trail in a last-ditch effort to increase the chances of its preferred candidates of winning the regional elections on November 27. leadership elections.

Jokowi hit the road on Saturday, a week before the end of the election season, participating in a campaign parade in Purwokerto in support of Central Java gubernatorial candidate Ahmad Luthfi and his running mate Taj Yasin.

Both men are supported by the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM), the electoral alliance behind the victory of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the latter being Jokowi's eldest son.

Riding an open white jeep through the central Java city, Jokowi, Luthfi and Yasin were seen handing out T-shirts featuring the three and waving to enthusiastic parade spectators.

“I came because I support [them]said the former mayor of Surakarta, Central Java, when asked by local journalists about his participation in the parade.

Earlier this week, Jokowi, who also served as Jakarta governor from 2012 to 2014, made an appearance at a rally of supporters of Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Ridwan Kamils ​​in Jakarta.

Wearing his signature white shirt and black pants, the popular former president openly declared his support for the Golkar politician and his running mate Suswono of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), saying Ridwan was a capable leader and experienced thanks to his previous mandate. roles as governor of West Java and mayor of Bandung.

He is the right person to lead Jakarta with all the challenges that exist, because he has experience in the development of Bandung city and West Java province,” Jokowi said in his speech broadcast live by KompasTV .

Jokowi (left) posing with Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Ridwan Kamil (right) in Jakarta, November 18, 2024. – Antara

He further highlighted Ridwan's education, noting that he graduated from the architectural engineering program at the Bandung Institute of Technology and had a master's degree in urban design from the University of California, Berkeley, qualifications that the former president said made the candidate right. fit to lead Jakarta.

The city, according to some studies, is among the worst designed in the world. [Ridwan] is proficient in urban planning and landscaping, Jokowi said.

The delay in Jokowi's official support for KIM-backed candidates for the upcoming elections in Jakarta and Central Java comes as recent polls show they are struggling to maintain their lead and consolidate support for within their great electoral alliance.

Ridwan and Suswono, the early favorites in Jakarta, were overtaken by Pramono Anung and his running mate Rano Karno, who are running on the list of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

The Ridwan-Suswono pairing has also seen support among KIM members split, with politicians from several parties in the grand electoral alliance as well as a large group of volunteers behind Jokowi and Prabowo, called Bravo 5, declaring their support for the pair Pramono-Rano.

Both men suffered another blow last week after former Jakarta governor and unsuccessful presidential candidate Anies Baswedan, who remained extremely popular among Jakarta voters, threw his support behind the Pramono-Rano ticket .

The former served as Jokowis' cabinet secretary and the latter is a well-known actor turned politician.

Just like KIM's two gubernatorial candidates in Jakarta, Luhtfi and Yasin also face tough competition from former Indonesian Army (TNI) commander Andika Perkasa and his running mate Hendrar Prihadi, who are running on the list of the PDI-P, which has for years been the largest party in Central Java.

The province has become a proxy battleground between the PDI-P and Jokowi, a former PDI-P member who split from the party after tacitly supporting Prabowo's presidential bid on a rival list rather than supporting the party candidate, Ganjar Pranowo.

Analysts said that even if Jokowi still retained enough political influence to influence the outcome of November's election, remaining widely popular in opinion polls when he left office last month, that did not guarantee victory of KIM candidates.

Unlike Central Java, where the former president holds significant influence among voters, Jokowis' open support for the Jakarta race may not significantly improve the position of the Ridwan-Suswono pairings, political analyst said Yoes Kenawas of the Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI) pollster.

Even if Prabowo and Jokowi [openly endorse Ridwan]the figures that have a significant influence in Jakarta remain, [including] Anies, a large bloc of whose supporters are undecided and, to some extent, [former Jakarta governor] Basuki [Tjahaja Ahok Purnama]Yoes said.

In fact, he added, Jokowi's support for the KIM-backed candidate could backfire because it gives the impression among middle-class voters, who dominate Jakarta, that Ridwan and Suswono sought l help from the higher-ups.

Kennedy Muslim, a senior researcher at survey institute Indikator Politik, said the recent emphasis on securing support from influential figures such as Jokowi showed a shift in candidates' campaign tactics.

With both pairs of candidates still relatively neck and neck in the final week of the campaign window. They're doing their best to maximize the support they get, Kennedy said Monday.

Still, the November race remains wide open, he continued, noting that how each candidate spends the final days of the campaign trail would influence voters' preferences. – Jakarta/ANN post