Elite Parties Dispute Can Thwart Anies In The Jakarta Regional Head Election

Muhaimin Iskandar is considered to be able to block Anies Baswedan's steps in the Jakarta Pilkada. (doc Muhaimin Iskandar)

Political observer from Populi Center, Usep S Ahyar, assessed that Anies Baswedan's move to run in the 2024 Jakarta Pilkada could be hampered even though he had expressed his readiness and received support from the Jakarta PKB DPW to become a candidate for governor (cagub).

One of the things that can happen is when the elite political parties with consensus do not nominate Anies as the governor of DKI Jakarta. Moreover, currently the opportunity to advance through individual channels is closed.

According to Usep, support for Anies to become the cagub of DKI Jakarta, including from PKB, is still at the regional level. Until now, there has been no official decision from the PKB DPP regarding the candidates to be promoted in the DKI Jakarta Pilkada.

"It's possible that the PKB DPP won't have one voice. Moreover, if the center has a greater pragmatic interest than carrying Anies. For example, it is offered to be the main coalition supporting Prabowo-Gibran," he said, Sunday, June 16, 2024.

However, Usep admits that the possibility to tackle Anies in that way is relatively small. Apart from the number of political parties, each political party also has a different interest.

He revealed, reflecting on the experience of the previous regional elections, the coalition at the regional level is often different from those at the center. The party coalition in the regional elections will usually focus on figures with the highest electability.

So it is difficult to have an evil consensus to tackle Anies. There will still be people looking for opportunities, given Anies' high electability. Moreover, in parties, they usually gather to people who have high electability in the regional elections, "explained Usep.

Hal tersebut juga sudah mulai terlihat bahwa dukungan untuk Anies bukan hanya dari DPW PKB, tapi juga sudah muncul rekomendasi dari DPW PKS dan DPD PDI Perjuangan. Jadi peluangnya masih besar, imbuhnya.

He also stated that Anies already has a strong political network other than high electability and reputation in Jakarta. Therefore, for now Anies is the most likely person to run in the 2024 DKI Jakarta Pilkada.

"It is proven that until now Anies is the most successful, especially regarding electability if we talk about the 2024 Jakarta Pilkada," said Usep.