The president is not allowed to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms.
JAKARTA: At the peak of his power but unable to contest next year’s presidential election, Indonesia’s wildly popular leader, Joko Widodo, is hedging his bets between the top two candidates and nurturing a dynasty to ensure a lasting influence, sources say.
“This is just showing that he is every bit as much a transactional, practical and self-interested politician as his contemporaries,” Sana Jaffrey, a research fellow at Australia’s National University , said of the president’s divided loyalties.The presidential palace did not respond to multiple requests for comment.The ruling Democratic Party of Struggle , of which he is a member, has named a regional governor, Ganjar Pranowo, as its candidate.
In August, Jokowi abruptly summoned the head of Golkar, Indonesia’s second-largest parliamentary party, to the palace, and instructed him to endorse Prabowo, even though the party had been poised to declare support for Ganjar, four sources with direct knowledge of the meeting said.Days later Golkar and PAN announced support for Prabowo, giving him the largest party support base.
“I whispered to him, ‘After you’re inaugurated – a day after you’re inaugurated – you have to take care of food self-sufficiency. Don’t take too long’,” Jokowi said.