This year’s regional elections in Indonesia saw one of the lowest turnouts in the country. — AFP
WILL there be a second round in Jakarta’s gubernatorial race?
The Pramono Anung-Rano Karno team believe their victory is based on real count results. According to the General Elections Commission (KPU) the team secured 2,181,636 votes (50.07%), followed by the pair of Ridwan Kamil-Suswono with 1,717,037 votes (39.4%). An independent ticket comprising of Dharma Pongrekun and Kun Wardana surprising garnered 458,839 votes (10.53%). The official results will only be announced late this month.
This year’s Jakarta election registered the lowest turnout in recent memory, hardly 57.6%. The national average of 70% too is among the lowest recorded.
On Nov 27, 207 million Indonesians were eligible to vote in the district heads elections or better known by its Indonesian acronym “pilkada”. It involved 37 provinces, 413 kabupaten (districts) and 93 cities and towns.
Jakarta is a hot seat for many reasons.
A gubernatorial position is a ticket to the presidency, as what happened to Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Anies Baswedan. Jokowi became a two-term president, while Anies failed in his bid for the post in February, edged out by Prabowo Subianto who had lost twice to Jokowi in 2014 and 2019.
Pramono has been Jokowi’s loyal aide for years. Although he is from the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P), he has served as Secretary to the Cabinet. It is no surprise that PDI-P choose him to go for the governorship of Jakarta. However, he is little known beyond the “palace” circle. But Rano Karno, the former child actor who later made his mark as the character “Si Doel” in a hugely popular film and later TV series and the son of legendary actor Sukarno M. Noor was the face of the campaign. He is a Betawi, said to be the original inhabitants of Jakarta.
Still, the fight is not just about KoalisiIndonesia Maju (KIM), a coalition of more than 15 political parties led by Prabowo against PDI-P but between Megawati and Jokowi. Jokowi has been labelled by Megawati as “Malim Kundang” (the insubordinate son in the legend of old) for what he did to her and the party that supported him from his Wali Kota days in Solo. It is also about pride and honour for both of them.
Then came Anies Baswedan. It had been rumoured he would run for the post supported by Parti Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS) and Parti Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB); both parties, together with NasDem, supported Anies for his presidential bid. But PKB and PKS joined KIM. PDI-P was said to have considered Anies but eventually decided on Pramono and Rano. There are many factions within PDI-P that wanted to support Anies. Meanwhile, for both Prabowo and Jokowi, it is “anybody but Anies”.
The law stipulates that for any pair of candidates to win Jakarta they must secure 50% of the votes plus one. Or else there will be a repeat election (pilgub ulang). The The Ridwan-Susono team believes that a runoff will benefit them. They have the president (and former president) behind them and the entire 15 members of the coalition will concentrate on the rerun of the race.
Technically speaking, that is.
But the truth is, Ridwan from Gerindra, the party led by Prabowo, is not the man for Jakarta. The support within the coalition has been lukewarm at best, the campaign itself in disarray. Ridwan and his running mate have made blunder after blunder.
Anies’ endorsement for Pramono-Rano is believed to be the game changer. Anies is a factor that can change the political dynamics in Jakarta. He was, after all, a popular former governor of Jakarta. Together with Ahok’s followers (labelled Ahokers), Anies’ “Anak Abah” and the enthusiasm of “Jakmania” – the football supporters aligned with Anies – Pramono and Rano have better chances.
Another significant duel is in Jawa Tengah. PDI-P’s choice is Andika Perkasa, a former general, and Hendrar Prihadi, former mayor of Semarang. KIM forwarded Ahmad Luthfi, a former police commissioner, and Taj Yassin Maimoen, the former deputy governor of Jawa Tengah.
The humiliation of the presidential election in February is still fresh in memory. PDI-P’s choice for president Ganjar Pranowo was the former Governor of Jawa Tengah for two terms. Yet he lost spectacularly in Jawa Tengah, traditionally also the stronghold of PDI-P.
This is the territory that is jealously guarded by Jokowi. Jokowi went all out to campaign for Ahmad Luthfi-Taj Yassin. State apparatuses were used unashamedly. The term “Partai Cokelat” (Brown Party) became popular, denoting the involvement of the police to help Jokowi’s choices.
PDI-P also lost in the gubernatorial race for Jawa Timur. Three women contested for the post – Luluk Nur Hamidah of PKB, Khofifah Inar Parawansa of Gerindra and former minister of Social Affairs, Tri Rismaharini of PDI-P. Khofifah who is heading the women’s wing of the powerful Muslim organisation, Nahdatul Ulama won the race with her teammate Emil Dardak.
PDI-P has cried foul over fraudulent practices by the government, repeating the reasons for their dismal performance in the presidential race in February. But fingers are pointing at Jokowi not only for his cawe-cawe (literally busy body) behaviour in Java but what many believe is his grand plan to place his children and son-in-law in positions of power.
Naysayers are predicting an uncertain future for PDI-P. Yes, PDI-P lost in many hotly contested spots, including four major areas in Java – Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Jawa Barat, and Banten. But they are still ahead among local representatives in Java, Bali and many parts of Sulawesi.
PDI-P technically has won Jakarta.
They will protect that despite attempts to push for an encore.
Tan Sri Johan Jaafar is a former journalist. He writes extensively on Indonesian politics, culture and literature. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.
