Indonesia’s Nasdem backs former presidential candidate Anies for Jakarta governor election, in possible rematch against Ahok

JAKARTA: The National Democratic Party (Nasdem) has officially announced that it will support former Jakarta governor and presidential candidate Anies Baswedan in the Jakarta gubernatorial race.

The November election for the current capital city could potentially see him facing off against a former rival, and another past Jakarta governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as Ahok.

According to Nasdem secretary-general Hermawi Taslim Hermawi, the decision to endorse Mr Anies was taken following the party’s plenary meeting on May 11 and fully endorsed by its top leadership on Monday (July 22). 

"This afternoon, we have resolutely decided on the Jakarta gubernatorial race. Chairman Surya Paloh led the meeting and officially named Mr Anies Baswedan as the Nasdem candidate for Governor of Jakarta," said Mr Hermawi, as quoted by the Jakarta Globe, at a press conference following the meeting in Nasdem Tower, the party’s headquarters.

He said apart from Mr Anies, there were two others named as potential candidates for the Jakarta governor election, namely Nasdem Member of Parliament Ahmad Sahroni, and Wibi Andrino, Chairman of the Nasdem Faction in the Jakarta Regional Parliament (DPRD).

Secretary of the Nasdem Election Board Willy Aditya said his party was supporting Mr Anies because of his high level of electability and good track record while he was governor of Jakarta.

Mr Anies is recognised for his achievements as Jakarta governor, including completing the construction of the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) and the Jakarta International E-Prix Circuit (JIEC).

"His electability and integrity are something to be desired and it is the aspiration of the people of Jakarta to have him continue with his leadership for the city. This is our benchmark (for nominating Mr Anies),” Mr Willy said at the Nasdem press conference. 

Expressing his gratitude for Nasdem's endorsement, Mr Anies said that he agreed with Nasdem chairman Surya Paloh’s vision to see the city continue to advance through the works done by the Jakarta provincial government.

"Anything that we consider as successful should be continued and improved upon, while things that made no improvements will have to be improved,” said Mr Anies.

"So our focus for Jakarta is for it to be one of the world's top cities on par with other advanced global cities," he continued.

Previously, Mr Anies had served as Jakarta governor from 2017-2022, then became a presidential candidate in the February 2024 election. He lost to Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto who will take his oath of office in October. 

Apart from Nasdem, Mr Anies has also received support from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). The National Awakening Party (PKB) has also stated that it will support Mr Anies but has yet to officially announce it.

Only PKS has proposed Mr Anies’ deputy governor candidate, former PKS president Sohibul Iman.

This has been met with pushback from PKB which considers Mr Sohibul as not suitable for the post because he is less popular in Jakarta.

Nasdem has stated that it supports Mr Anies unconditionally but will not propose any party member to be deputy governor candidates. It has granted Mr Anies the freedom to choose his own running mate. 

The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), has broached the possibility of Mr Kaesang Pangarep - the youngest son of current president Joko Widodo - to be paired with Mr Anies for the Jakarta governor election, but this was rejected by Nasdem due to Mr Kaesang’s very low popularity.

In an opinion poll conducted by local media platform Kompas in June, Mr Anies enjoyed the highest electability in Jakarta, at 29.8 per cent, while Mr Kaesang only received 1 per cent. 

While it is still not known yet who Mr Anies' rival will be as the official registration of candidates only starts on Aug 27, it is widely believed that there will be a rematch with Mr Ahok.

About 20 names have emerged as potential candidates for Jakarta governor which apart from Mr Anies and Mr Ahok, include other political heavyweights such as former West Java governor Ridwan Kamil, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, and State Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir.

Based on the Kompas survey, the second and third highest ranking possible candidates for Jakarta election were Mr Ahok with 20 per cent popularity and Mr Ridwan at 8.5 per cent. 

Mr Erick and Mdm Sri Mulyani only received 2.3 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively. 

Both Mr Anies and Mr Ahok had fought in the 2017 gubernatorial election, widely considered an election full of identity politics. Mr Anies won the election while Mr Ahok was subsequently found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to two years in jail. 

Mr Ahok had previously been favoured by his party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), to run in the North Sumatra governor  election. Based on the recent polling survey, observers said that it is likely PDI-P will back Mr Ahok in the Jakarta election for a possible rematch with Mr Anies.

Mr Ahok himself has said he is keen for the rematch.

"If we can have a rematch with Mr Anies, it will be more interesting as this will be a measurement to what extent this nation has risen to the level of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika," Mr Ahok said in an interview with Kompas TV on Saturday, referring to Indonesia’s motto of unity amid diversity principle. 

PDI-P has not yet officially announced that it will support Mr Ahok, claiming that they are still looking into various possibilities, while not dismissing talks of both Mr Anies and Mr Ahok running together as governor and deputy governor of Jakarta.

"The Jakarta (governor election) is still very dynamic, with various talks going on involving both Mr Ahok and Mr Anies, including possibility for them to run together or contest as rivals,” said PDI-P secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto on Saturday as quoted by CNBC Indonesia.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) will open registration for the regional head elections on Aug 27 to Aug 29 and the elections for provisional governors, head of regencies and mayors will take place on Nov 27.