Anies Baswedan's Ambition at Presidential Election

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The preparations of the political parties in the search for presidential candidates are heating up. In the middle of June, a national meeting of the National Democrat (NasDem) Party recommended three candidates: Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, Central Jakarta Governor Ganjar Pranowo and Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Andika Perkasa.

A number of politicians claim that the two final names are simply window dressing. NasDem seems to favor Anies Baswedan. Party Chairman Surya Paloh is lobbying to garner support. He even proposed Anies to President Joko Widodo, with Ganjar Pranowo as the running mate. If Jokowi did not agree, Puan Maharani could run with him instead.

 Surya is not the only person who has been in action. So has Jusuf Kalla, who has long been a supporter of Anies since the Jakarta gubernatorial election in 2017. As vice president in Jokowi’s first term, Kalla has no problem gaining access to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), winner of the 2019 elections.

 Meanwhile, Anies naturally has presidential ambitions of his own. He took part in the Democrat Party convention in 2014. He also has people to help him in the run up to 2024. Some former supporters of Jokowi are behind him. There are even people who were close to Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as Ahok, Anies’ rival in 2017.

Support also come from major Islamic groups that have been loyal to Anies since the gubernatorial election. These groups that still show enmity toward Ahok today are openly supporting Anies in his run for the presidency. How will Anies free himself from the political cartel and his image of identity politics? Or will he benefit from this?