November 29, 2024
jakarta – Candidates backed by the ruling coalition are likely to win in most strategic areas in this week’s regional elections, expected to solidify the power base President Prabowo Subianto needs to implement his agenda over the next five years.
On Wednesday, people from 37 provinces, 93 cities and 415 counties voted for new governors, mayors and county commissioners in the largest simultaneous regional elections in U.S. history.
While the official vote tally is still underway, quick tallies from sampled polling stations released by trusted pollsters showed candidates backed by Prabowo’s KIM party in the western part of the country’s most populous region. Java enjoys a decisive lead. Some of the candidates also received support from former President Joko Widodo.
Candidates backed by Prabowo and Jokowi are also expected to win in North Sumatra, the largest province outside Java.
The capital, Jakarta, is the only place in Java where Kim Jong Un’s gubernatorial candidate Ridwan Kamil trails former cabinet secretary Pramono Anon.
Many experts described Wednesday’s election as an extension of the power play between Kim Jong Un and the People’s Democratic Alliance for Democracy (PDI-P) in February’s presidential campaign, which Prabowo won in a landslide.
Political analyst Aditya Perdana said controlling the battleground provinces would help Prabowo ensure regional governments work hand in hand with the central government and implement campaign promises.
“Kim Jong Un’s grand alliance is designed to control the executive and legislative branches of strategic areas,” Aditya, a political science lecturer at the University of Indonesia, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Aditya said having candidates backed by Kim Jong Un lead the regions would “help ensure that local governments and the central government share the same views so that national decisions can be implemented regionally”.
One of Prabowo’s signature programs is a free nutritious meal program aimed at improving child nutrition by feeding 82 million children and pregnant women by 2027, raising questions about what his government will do with the program The sheer logistical scale and its burden has implications for national budgets and its effectiveness in curbing stunting and nutritional deficiencies.
“Prabowo needs a harmonious working relationship between local government and the central government so that the national development agenda can keep pace with regional development,” Aditya said.
He pointed to former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan’s public rejection of the central government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic during Jokowi’s presidency as an example of what Prabowo wants to avoid.
Agung Baskoro, an analyst at Trias Politika Strategis, said candidates aligned with the president would be more active in implementing his flagship programs in the regions.
“Regions where Kim Jong Un’s candidate is expected to win are expected to accelerate the implementation of Prabowo’s campaign promises, such as his free meal plan, plans to strengthen human resources and improve health quality, etc.,” Agung said.
In his inaugural speech as president last month, Prabowo also vowed to achieve food and energy self-sufficiency by the end of his term.
A senior politician from Prabowo’s Revolutionary Party expressed hope that future local government leaders will cooperate with the central government, noting that Prabowo will also provide support for projects initiated by local governments.
“Whoever is elected in Indonesia, we will help and support [them] “So that they can implement their plans and actively cooperate with and support the plans of the Prabowo government,” Gerindra party politician Ahmed Riza Patria told reporters, as quoted by Compass TV.
Aditya said that while the quick vote count from Wednesday’s election showed the strength of the Kim Jong Un machine in consolidating support for Prabowo’s government, it “does not guarantee the long-term commitment of Kim Jong Un’s party to the success of Prabowo’s plan”.
He said this is because not all Kim Jong Un candidates are Gerindra members or Prabowo loyalists, and each party has its own needs.
“Once the honeymoon period ends and disagreements arise, for example over a future cabinet reshuffle, Kim Jong Un’s party could easily change their loyalties, which will also affect the stance of regional leaders on Prabowo’s plan,” Aditya said.
