Jakarta’s exception: voters against Islamic sectarianism
In Indonesia's local elections, the candidates running for the party that backed Jokowi and Prabowo won everywhere except in Jakarta. Mindful of what happened six years ago with the campaign against Christian governor Ahok, local voters ostensibly rejected the Kamil-Suswono ticket, which courted radical Islamist groups.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – For the first time, Indonesia’s regional elections were held simultaneously, on Wednesday, across the country. The results confirm former President Joko Widodo’s continuing influence a few weeks ago after he handed over power to his successor, Prabowo Subianto, a former rival who became an ally.
Two gubernatorial candidates Widodo backed were elected in the key provinces of Central Java and East Java. But this general trend seems to have had one important exception, Jakarta. Why?
Despite the official designation of Nusantara as the country’s new capital, Jakarta will remain the centre of power for a long time to come. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)[*] of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, now Widodo’s rival, supported former Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, who ran with film producer Rano Karno as his deputy.
According to early results, the pair appear to have topped the 50 per cent threshold by a handful of votes, which would avert a runoff.
This outcome has been disputed by Ridwan Kamil and his number two, Suswono, both backed by Golkar (which supported both Prabowo and Joko Widodo) who, pending the official statement from the Election Commission, are calling for second round of voting.
If the results in Jakarta are confirmed, their significance goes far beyond the Jokowi-Megawati rivalry.
Pramono's success is the result of the lesson voters drew from the 2017 vote, when the then governor of Jakarta Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama was defeated in the run-off by Anies Baswedan, the controversial Minister of Education in the Widodo administration.
Ahok, a Christian and a symbol of the country’s unity, fought corruption and uncontrolled spending during his mandate.
To pursue his political ambition to lead Jakarta, Anies began wearing clothes that underscored his Islamic profile during the election campaign, often sporting a white shirt and the traditional peci (Indonesian cap).
With not-so-veiled messages, he insisted that Jakarta, a Muslim-majority city, deserved a Muslim governor.
Eventually, Ahok was charged with blasphemy for quoting a verse from the Qurʾān during the election campaign. This enabled Anies to win. He was later re-elected, but during his term in office, he overturned all the positive work that Ahok had done as governor.
Many open public works projects were neglected, becoming totally unmanageable, and public moneys were squandered to host Formula E car races.
In this election, the alliance backed by Prabowo and Widodo tried to play the Muslim identity card as well, flanking its presidential candidate Kamil with a running mate like Suswono, who is close to the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party (PKS[†]). Support for the Kamil-Suswono ticket was even announced at a meeting in Makkah.
This time, however, voters in Jakarta – less concerned by the Megawati-Widodo rivalry, ostensibly opted for a ticket free from links with radical Islamist groups, including the notorious Islamic Defence Front (FPI), picking nationalists like Pramono and Rano who have not used religious arguments to promote their case.
The results of some Catholic candidates in these elections deserves some attention.
In Semarang, the capital of Central Java, a woman of Chinese origin, Agustina Wilujeng Pramesti, defeated all the other candidates, becoming the city’s first female Catholic mayor. In North Toraja, a regency in South Sulawesi, Andrew Branch Silambi, also a Catholic, was elected deputy regent in a town where Yohanis Bassang is the incumbent mayor. Finally, Sherly Tjoanda, a Christian woman, will be the new governor of North Maluku, a predominantly Muslim province, succeeding her husband who died in an accident.
[*] Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan.
[†] Partai Keadilan Sejahtera.
.png)
16/02/2017 10:31
