PKS Mulling Support for W. Java No. 2 Deddy's Jakarta Election Bid
Bandung, West Java. The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) is considering to throw its support behind West Java Deputy Governor Deddy Mizwar in his bid to win next year’s gubernatorial election in Jakarta.
With several popular candidates looking for the opportunity to contest the Jakarta race, the Islamic-based PKS announced it may endorse Deddy, a former actor, to take on incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.
“Non-party candidates [in the Jakarta gubernatorial election] are [businessman] Sandiaga Uno and Adhyaksa Dault [former youth and sports minister]," Tate Qomarudin, the head of the PKS in West Java, said in Bandung, as reported by Antara news agency. "The latest one is Deddy Mizwar. He is the party leadership board's head for proselytization in West Java, Jakarta and Banten."
Tate said Deddy’s candidacy was backed by the party’s leaders in Jakarta, but the PKS was also still screening other internal candidates like former Depok mayor Nur Mahmudi Ismail, city council member Triwisaksana and Suswono, a former agriculture minister.
The PKS said it has also started intensive communication with two other parties, Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), to team up in endorsing a candidate pair in the 2017 Jakarta election.
According to a survey released on Jan. 25 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), 43 percent of Jakarta residents surveyed said they would vote for incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.
Other people set to join next year's race include former minister and law expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto and rock star Ahmad Dhani.
Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil has bowed out of the race, choosing to focus on successfully completing his current term as the provincial capital's leader until 2018.
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