The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will likely nominate its own cadre and rule out an outsider to contest the November 27, 2024 Jakarta gubernatorial election.
PDI-P Chief Treasurer, Olly Dondokambey, said the nationalist party preferred its senior party member Pramono Anung Wibowo to contest the election as the party’s gubernatorial candidate. Pramono, who is also the Cabinet Secretary of President Joko Widodo administration, is reported to be paired with Rano Karno, an actor and movie director of indigenous Jakarta’s Betawi ethnicity.
“It’s Pramono-Rano for Jakarta election,” Olly said via text message on Monday, August 26, 2024, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
It remains unknown why PDI-P Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is the ultimate decision maker in the party’s internal affairs including in naming candidates for regional head elections, canceled Anies nomination.
Anies has been at the top of a number of political surveys for the Jakarta governorship, but he is not asssociated with any political parties, a significant factor for one’s opportunity to get nominated. Meanwhile, Pramono has not been included in the surveys nor in the top three standings of candidates for the Jakarta governorship.
A special session was held by the party on Monday to publicly announce its candidates for regional head elections, but skipped naming several of them, incuding its candidate for the Jakarta governorship.
Chairman of PDI-P’s Regional Election Winning Agency, Adian Napitipu, was reluctant to talk when asked about the candidate for Jakarta governorship. Anies, who was present at the PDI-P headquarters earlier in the day, was also absent at the candidate announcement session.
Megawati was earlier rumored to be nominating Anies for the Jakarta gubernatorial election in tandem with Rano Karno.
Earlier in the day, posters of Anies-Rano had been circulating across social media platforms and published on mainstream media websites. Anies also came to the PDI-P headquarters in pink batik clothes after meeting and securing his mother’s blessing.
