Anies Baswedan effectively out of Jakarta race after Indonesia’s largest party nominates member

Former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan, the frontrunner in opinion polls for this year’s gubernatorial race in Indonesia’s capital, on Wednesday effectively lost the chance to contest for re-election.

PDI-P, the only party left that could nominate a candidate, was widely speculated to choose Anies, a popular independent, but it announced Wednesday that it was picking a long-time member, Pramono Anung, who is currently President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s secretary.

Pramono registered his candidacy at the election commission on Wednesday, but his selection surprised analysts at two levels – they said Pramono’s chances to win the Jakarta governorship were slim and he was close to Jokowi, who severed ties with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), decidedly not on good terms.

PDI-P, the country’s largest party, said it chose 61-year-old Pramono as its candidate in the race for the high-profile position because he had worked for a long time in the legislature and at a minister-level position.

“With his extensive experience in the party, as a legislator, House deputy speaker, and then minister, Pramono Anung is expected to provide the best solutions for Jakarta,” Hasto Kristiyanto, the party’s secretary-general, told reporters in Jakarta.

“[His] skills in political communication, lobbying, and securing support from all political parties will be a valuable asset, especially in building connections with the public.” Pramon’s running mate will be Rano Karno, a veteran film actor.

The Jakarta election will be held Nov. 27 along with a slew of other regional polls for local government heads, including regents and mayors nationwide.

Neither Hasto nor any other PDI-P member commented on why Anies, who was Jakarta’s governor from 2017 to 2022, was not chosen. Local media reported he had several meetings with PDI-P members in recent days.

PDI-P was the only party that could nominate Anies, because all the others had thrown their support behind Ridwan Kamil, an ex-Bandung governor, and the choice of President-elect Prabowo Subianto’s party. Ridwan and his running mate also registered Wednesday.

Now, with the PDI-P nominating a party member, Anies effectively has no party to support his candidacy.

‘Coalition with the people’

The PDI-P itself could only field a nominee for the powerful position after last week’s Constitutional Court ruling eased the requirements for parties to field candidates.

Even that chance nearly slipped away from the party, after the House of Representatives (DPR) drafted a rushed bill to overrule the court decision. Analysts say the bill may well have passed because most of the parties who now back Prabowo in a grand alliance want to consolidate power nationwide.

However, the DPR’s move was thwarted by thousands of protesters taking to the streets to express their outrage at what they saw as an undermining of democratic principles and their free choice.

The vote on the bill didn’t take place however, the DPR speaker said, because all members were not in the House, but it was widely believed it was canceled – for now.

Pramono, a PDI-P loyalist, was appointed in 2015 as cabinet secretary by President Jokowi, then a fellow party member, and has since held the position. Before that Pramono had served as deputy secretary-general and secretary general of PDI-P, and been elected deputy speaker of the House of Representatives for the 2009-2014 period.

But he is a relative unknown in local government circles and his electability is untested.

Pramono acknowledged that the race was going to be a tough one, but that he was ready to fight.

“I don’t mind that [his biggest competitor Ridwan] is backed by a lot of parties,” he told reporters after registering as a candidate.

“I’ll just build a coalition with the people.”

Ridwan and his running mate, Suswono, a former agriculture minister who goes by one name, are backed by 13 political parties.

A third candidate in the Jakarta gubernatorial race may be an independent, Dharma Pongrekun, who is a former police general, according to The Jakarta Post. If he plans to run, he would have to file his candidacy by Thursday, which is the last registration day.

PDI-P’s Jokowi experience

Analysts said that the PDI-P’s experience with ex-member Jokowi may be at the heart of its decision to nominate a party member for the important Jakarta post.

A PDI-P member since 2004, Jokowi ran for mayor of Solo (Surakarta) and for the country’s presidency – twice – under its banner. But for this year’s presidential race he did not back the PDI-P candidate Ganjar Pranowo.

The party was not happy – Jokowi still has a tremendously high popularity rating.

While Jokowi didn’t explicitly say he supported any of the three candidates – Anies was one – the fact that his eldest son was running for vice president on Prabowo’s ticket made clear to many his preference for president.

RELATED STORIES

Analysts: With Jokowi’s maneuvering, Indonesian democracy faces gravest threat since Suharto’s fall

Indonesia’s president bids nation farewell in final speech to Parliament

Indonesian court’s electoral ruling may reshape politics, thwart ‘oligarchy’ of parties

Indonesian MPs drop election bill to aid Jokowi’s son following widespread protests

Firman Noor, a political science professor at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), said that by nominating Pramono, the PDI-P is emphasizing its commitment to party loyalists, even if it comes at the cost of losing the election.

And the professor believes Pramono doesn’t have much of a chance against Ridwan.

“They [want to show they] have principles; there must be [party] cadres who advance, rather than supporting other candidates or parties,” he told BenarNews.

‘Zero% electability’

Another analyst from Multimedia Nusantara University, Ambang Priyonggo, concurred with Firman.

“When opportunities arose after the Constitutional Court decision and the cancellation of the [DPR’s] regional election bill, PDI-P sought to optimize its cadres," Ambang told BenarNews.

“Pramono has zero% electability in Jakarta, and relying on [actor] Rano Karno’s popularity is insufficient.”

He believes that with Anies as a candidate, PDI-P would have been at a position of political strength. At the same time, he acknowledged that Anies and the PDI-P lacked chemistry together.

Anies would also have been more appreciated by the people than Ridwan, said Ali Sahab, from Airlangga University.

“Anies is more popular than Ridwan because he has effectively addressed Jakarta’s needs and fulfilled his promises during his tenure [as governor],” he told BenarNews.

“Anies has proven to be bold in confronting procedural violations by businesses and has sided with the common people.”

At the end of the day, though, it is about who and how many parties are backing a candidate, because the higher the number the more support and finance for the electoral campaign, said Wasisto Raharjo Jati, another BRIN researcher.

“The main players are the political coalitions rather than the individual figures they endorse,” he told BenarNews.

“Therefore, no matter how popular a figure is, if they lack political backing, they will still face challenges.”

Pizaro Gozali Idrus in Jakarta contributed to this article.