Five reasons for Joko Widodo’s popularity in Indonesia
Joko Widodo, governor of Jakarta and Indonesia’s
most popular politician, has been selected the presidential candidate
for Megawati Sukarnoputri’s Democratic Party of Indonesia-Struggle
(PDI-P) for the presidential election in July.
Mr Widodo, a political outsider until he was elected governor
of the capital two years ago, has become wildly popular across the
world’s third biggest democracy because of his down-to-earth manner,
focus on delivery and pro-poor policies such as free healthcare and
education.
●
Down-to-earth style Some outsiders have compared Mr Widodo’s rapid rise from obscurity
to that of Barack Obama, US president. But, as one of his political
rivals puts it, he is more like an Indonesian Ronald Reagan or George W
Bush. “People like him because he looks and sounds like the ordinary
Joe,” he says. “He’s the sort of guy they feel they can eat noodles with
at a street stall.” That contrasts sharply with rivals such as former
general Prabowo Subianto and tycoon Aburizal Bakrie and even his party
boss, former president Ms Megawati, who maintains an aloof presence.
● Focus on delivery After the fall of the Suharto
dictatorship in 1998, Indonesia became one of the world’s most
decentralised countries. But many Indonesians have been disappointed
with the quality of their elected local leaders. As mayor of Solo, a
small city in central Java, and then governor of Jakarta from 2012, Mr
Widodo has focused on delivering real, if gradual, improvements, from
relocating street vendors in Solo to new markets to bringing in free
health and education for the poor in Jakarta.
● Good deputy Mr Widodo’s success in Jakarta has
been due in large part to his vice-governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who
plays bad cop to the governor’s good cop. While Mr Widodo spends his
days doing spot inspections, receiving guests and guiding the
administration, Mr Purnama is running the show in city hall.
● Canny media management Mr Widodo has shown himself
to be a smart communicator. His decision to wear a cheap checked red
and blue shirt throughout his campaign for the Jakarta governorship was a
well considered attempt to encapsulate his down-to-earth political
brand. His trademark spot inspections are designed to ensure that he
generates constant attention from Indonesia’s plethora of 24-hour news
channels and websites as well as newspapers.
● The lack of alternatives Indonesia is a
fast-growing, youthful country and between 10 and 20 per cent of the
190m electorate will be voting for the first time this year. But
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy suffers from a distinct lack of fresh
leaders. Most of the other contenders for the presidency, including Mr
Subianto and Mr Bakrie, are controversial figures from the past who have
tried and failed to attain high office before. Mr Widodo is one of a
handful of promising, younger leaders who have emerged in the past few
years.
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Joko Widodo to run for presidency in Indonesia
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Official: Joko Widodo Named 2014 Presidential Candidate by Megawati
Jakarta. Will Indonesia look back on Friday, March 14 as the day the 2014 presidential election was decided?
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) nominated the wildly popular Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo as its presidential candidate on Friday, putting to an end months of speculation as to whether party chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri was readying her fourth bid for the highest office in the world’s fourth-largest country.
The governor took a break from an impromptu visit to subsidized housing in Marunda, North Jakarta to welcome the news on Friday. He told a crowd of reporters and local residents that he was prepared to mount a campaign for the July election.
“I have been given the blessing of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri to be a presidential candidate,” Joko said before touching his head to the Indonesian flag in a show of respect. “Bismillahirrahmanirahim, I am ready.”
The PDI-P made the official announcement on Friday afternoon as Megawati read from a handwritten note at the party’s headquarters in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta. The one-time president made a direct appeal to Indonesian voters, asking them to support Joko in the coming presidential campaign.
“My command is, as the PDI-P chairwoman, to the people of Indonesia who have consciousness for justice and honesty wherever you are: support Bapak Joko Widodo as PDI-P presidential candidate,” Megawati read.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) nominated the wildly popular Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo as its presidential candidate on Friday, putting to an end months of speculation as to whether party chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri was readying her fourth bid for the highest office in the world’s fourth-largest country.
The governor took a break from an impromptu visit to subsidized housing in Marunda, North Jakarta to welcome the news on Friday. He told a crowd of reporters and local residents that he was prepared to mount a campaign for the July election.
“I have been given the blessing of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri to be a presidential candidate,” Joko said before touching his head to the Indonesian flag in a show of respect. “Bismillahirrahmanirahim, I am ready.”
The PDI-P made the official announcement on Friday afternoon as Megawati read from a handwritten note at the party’s headquarters in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta. The one-time president made a direct appeal to Indonesian voters, asking them to support Joko in the coming presidential campaign.
“My command is, as the PDI-P chairwoman, to the people of Indonesia who have consciousness for justice and honesty wherever you are: support Bapak Joko Widodo as PDI-P presidential candidate,” Megawati read.
She also urged voters to keep a watchful eye for election fraud
during this April’s hugely important legislative elections. Political
observers expect the PDI-P, the country’s main opposition party, to
receive a boost in the legislative race amid growing discontent with
members of President Susilo Bambang
The PDI-P received 14 percent of the popular vote in the 2009
election, securing enough seats to control 19.69 percent of the House of
Representatives. But the opposition party will have to convince a
sizable percentage of new voters to mount a presidential campaign alone.
Political parties need 25 percent of the vote or 20 percent of the
House to nominate a presidential candidate without forming a coalition.
Yudhoyono tightened his grip on the House after the 2009 election, forming a six-party coalition that stands opposite the PDI-P. But a series of high-profile graft cases have all but destroyed the Democratic Party’s upper echelons and the president has struggled to keep the more unruly members, like the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), in check.
The outcome of April’s legislative race will set the tone for the coming election, narrowing the crowded playing field to a few candidates and kick off the official campaign season. With Joko’s presidential bid at least partially on the line, Megawati asked her supporters to do whatever they could to ensure a clean election.
“Protect and guard the 2014 legislative elections, especially at polling booths and during tallying of the votes, from any fraud and intimidation,” Megawati said. “Strengthen your heart in guarding the democracy in our beloved Republic of Indonesia.”
The timing of the announcement, which came after months of silence
from both Joko and Megawati, will likely bode well for PDI-P candidates
in the legislative elections. The official legislative campaign season
begins on Sunday, March 16 — giving voters a weekend to digest the news
of Joko’s run before the PDI-P takes to the streets.
“Making the announcement before the legislative elections will make
the PDI-P’s electability the highest among all the parties,” said Wawan
Ichwanudin, a political science lecturer at the University of Indonesia.
“But there is still a possibility that Jokowi will lose the race.
“There are still undecided voters and other candidates. To date,
Jokowi’s electability hasn’t surpassed 50 percent, so there is still a
chance for any other candidate.”
If Joko fails to break the 50 percent threshold in the July election,
the race will be decided with a run-off vote between the two most
popular candidates. The governor was able to secure his position in
Jakarta with a run-off, trouncing incumbent Fauzi Bowo, but a
presidential race is an entirely different beast, Wawan warned.
“With less than 50 percent, there would have to be a second round of
the election,” he explained.
“This will give another chance for other
candidates to team up against Jokowi and gather their votes. The
possibility that this other team might win the race is still a reality.”
Poll position
Joko routinely tops electability polls, but contenders like the Great
Indonesia Movement Party’s (Gerindra) Prabowo Subianto and the Golkar
Party’s Aburizal Bakrie are still at his heels. Both men announced their
candidacy early in the game and have been making the rounds to drum up
support ahead of the campaign season.
Aburizal, a mining and property tycoon, is pushing for a
protectionist stance on Indonesia’s natural resources and is banking on
the emergence of New Order nostalgia to provide a push for the Golkar
Party — the one-time election machine of Indonesian strongman Suharto.
He has repeatedly gone on the record to say that Joko’s candidacy is a
non-issue as far as he is concerned. The only real threats, Aburizal
said, were Megawati and Prabowo.
Prabowo, the former leader of the nation’s feared Kopassus Special
Forces, has taken great pains to recast himself as populist leader with a
firm grip. His Gerindra party has embarked on an aggressive social
media campaign illustrating the party’s commitment to anti-corruption
and nationalism ahead of the election.
But allegations of human rights offenses, including kidnapping and
killings during the chaos that capped off Suharto’s reign, could prove
to be a substantial hurdle for Prabowo’s popularity among the nation’s
emerging middle class.
Gerindra supported Joko and his running mate Basuki Tjahaja Purnama
in the Jakarta gubernatorial race. But while Basuki has remained loyal
to the Gerindra party, Joko was always with the PDI-P. The pre-election
rumor mill has swirled with suggestions of a Joko-Prabowo joint ticket,
peaking after Basuki made a Chinese New Year visit to Prabowo’s
mountain-side compound, but so far any mention of a coalition remain
speculation.
One Gerindra official said the party was not concerned with Joko’s emergence as a contender in the race.
“We have no problem at all,” said Habiburohman, the head of advocacy
at Gerindra. “We are ready to compete with anyone. Prabowo has his own
qualities, so we’re welcome to any contenders.”
Deserting the Durian?
Joko will have to answer for attempting to leave behind his post as
the head of Indonesia’s chaotic capital less than halfway through his
term, Habiburohman said. The governor rode into office on a reform
ticket and promised to clean up Jakarta’s glacial bureaucracy.
Plans to expand the capital’s public transportation system, including
the much-delayed construction of a monorail and mass-rapid transit
line, have begun in earnest but it will be years before Jakarta
residents feel the impact on their daily lives. The governor has, in the
past, promised that his attentions were on the capital, not Merdeka Palace, but Friday’s announcement has cemented Joko’s ambitions for higher office.
“How people see it, his unfinished responsibility in Jakarta and his
commitment will be a question that Jokowi has to eventually
answer,” Habiburohman said. “It’s his business, not ours.”
Jakarta’s deputy governor suggested Joko take a leave of absence
during the campaign season instead of vacating his office. There was
still a mountain of work to be done in the capital that needed Joko’s
attention, Basuki said.
“All this time, the Governor has trusted me to lead meetings,” Basuki said. “I can make decisions. Or if there is anything Pak Jokowi wants to say, he can always call me during meetings.”
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jakarta-governor-joko-widodo-pegged-pdi-p-presidential-race/
;)
God bless you, Mr. Joko Widodo
Love,
Abby
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