Former Ahok Deputy Djarot to Run in North Sumatra Governor Race
January 5, 2018 | 9:53 am
Jakarta. Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDIP, one of the major political parties in Indonesia, announced on Thursday (04/01) it has nominated former Jakarta governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat as its candidate in the upcoming gubernatorial election in North Sumatra.
"[The party has] not decided who his running mate will be," Megawati said in Jakarta.
The General Elections Commission (KPU) deadline to register governor and district head nominations are on Jan. 8-10.
Megawati, who was Indonesia's president from 2001 to 2004, said North Sumatra is an important province strategically for the PDIP.
She also pointed out that many former governors of the province had been exposed for corruption.
Gatot Pujo Nugroho and Syamsul Arifin — both from the Islamic Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) — for example, were former North Sumatra governors who were sent to jail in separate graft cases.
Megawati said Djarot "is a good and very serious man. He will be the perfect leader for North Sumatra."
The former Jakarta governor — who replaced Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama after he was jailed for blasphemy — will face current North Sumatra governor Tengku Eri Nuryadi from the National Democratic Party (NasDem) and chief of the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), Lt. Gen. Edy Rahmayadi — a PKS nominee — in the June election.
PKS Announces 13 Governor Nominees
PKS also announced 13 governor nominees and their running mates on Thursday, according to a report from BeritaSatu TV.
They are Sudrajat and Ahmad Syaikhu for West Java, Lt. Gen TNI Edy Rahmayadi and Musa Rajeckshah for North Sumatra, Zulkieflimansyah and Siti Rohmi Djalilah for West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Isran Noor and Hadi Mulyadi for East Kalimantan, Muhammad Kasuba and Majid Husein for North Maluku, Syamsuar and Edy Nasution for Riau, Nurdin Abdullah and Andi Sudirman Sulaiman for South Sulawesi, Said Assagaff and Anderias Rentanubun for Maluku, Lukas Enembe and Klemen Tinal for Papua and Asrul and Hugua for Southeast Sulawesi.
"We hope announcing our nominees early will help us win the elections," PKS secretary general Mustafa Kamal said.
NasDem Picks Nominees for Bali
Meanwhile, NasDem announced Ida Bagus Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra and I Ketut Sudikerta, a pairing known as "Mantra-Kerta," as their governor and deputy governor nominees in the Bali election on Thursday, Suara Pembaruan reported.
Four other political parties – Golongan Karya (Golkar), the Democratic Party (Partai Demokrat), the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) — have also declared some of their governor and district head nominees for the regional elections that will be held simultaneously in 171 regions all over Indonesia in June this year.
Additional reporting by Aichi Halik and Yeremia Sukoyo
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