Former First Children Throw Hats into Election Ring

Name: Former First Children Throw Hats into Election Ring
Uploaded: 2018-09-21T06:19:33Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: Children of former presidents will enter the fray in the 2019 legislative election. Apart from serving as their respective parties’ vote-getters, it is believed that these former first children are looking to maintain their families’ relationships with the seat of state power.

Children of former presidents will enter the fray in the 2019 legislative election. Apart from serving as their respective parties’ vote-getters, it is believed that these former first children are looking to maintain their families’ relationships with the seat of state power.

· 6 minutes read

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Children of former presidents will enter the fray in the 2019 legislative election. Apart from serving as their respective parties’ vote-getters, it is believed that these former first children are looking to maintain their families’ relationships with the seat of state power.

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The former first children are Guruh Soekarnoputra (son of first president Soekarno), Siti Hediati “Titiek” Hariyadi and Hutomo “Tommy” Mandala Putra (children of second president Soeharto), Puan Maharani (daughter of fifth president Megawati Soekarnoputri) and Edhi Baskoro “Ibas” Yudhoyono (son of sixth president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono).

Only the children of third president BJ Habibie and fourth president Abdurrahman Wahid are steering clear of the 2019 legislative election.

These former first children are looking to compete in constituencies known either as support bases of their respective political parties or as having close historical relationships with their respective families. Such circumstances may have advantages for them.

General Elections Commission (KPU) data show that Puan and Ibas were among the top five vote-getters nationwide in the 2014 election. Puan garnered the second most votes at 369,927 while Ibas was fifth with 243,747 votes. Titiek garnered 61,655 votes.

The three politicians are seeking to repeat their success in the same constituencies, respectively, in 2019. Puan will run for the Central Java V constituency, comprising Boyolali, Klaten, Sukoharjo and Surakarta. Ibas will compete for East Java VIII, comprising Pacitan, Ponorogo, Trenggalek, Magetan and Ngawi. Titiek will compete in Yogyakarta.

Competition is expected to be fiercer in 2019, with the former first children expected to face tough challengers. Titiek, for instance, will face Hanafi Rais, the son of seasoned politician and former People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Amien Rais. In 2014, Hanafi won 197,915 votes, ranking him ninth in the top vote-getters nationwide.

Top political figures and former and current ministers are also fighting for votes in constituencies.

As the number of legislative candidates has grown for next year’s election, rivalry is expected to be higher. The KPU’s final candidates list (DCT) announced on Thursday (20/9/2018) shows that 7,968 House of Representatives candidates from 16 political parties will compete in 80 constituencies for 575 House seats. This means only 7.2 percent of all candidates will acquire House seats.

There are more legislative candidates for 2019 than there were in 2014. Consequently, the chance of winning this time around is smaller. The 2014 legislative election involved 6,607 candidates competing in 77 constituencies for 560 seats. At the time, 8.4 percent of all candidates won House seats.

Information

The struggle for mid- and low-level parties to win seats will be tougher this time due to the 4 percent electoral threshold for the 2019 legislative election. This is higher than the 3.5 percent threshold in 2014.

Amid this tighter competition, KPU chair Arief Budiman said in Jakarta on Thursday that he hoped voters would actively seek information on legislative candidates before making a decision. Information on House candidates can be accessed at KPU’s website at https://info-pemilu.kpu.go.id/

“Voters, at the very least, need to check on the candidates in their constituencies. They need to understand who will represent them,” he said.

At the announcement of the legislative DCT and the presidential candidates at the KPU headquarters in Jakarta, Arief also handed over the KPU decree officially naming Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin and Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno as the presidential and VP candidates to National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Ari Dono Sukmanto.

Ari Dono said the decree would serve as a basis for the police to provide protection for the candidates. For the incumbent candidate, daily protection remains the responsibility of the Presidential Security Detail.

The KPU has scheduled the drawing of presidential candidate numbers on Friday night at its headquarters. The campaign period starts on Sept. 23 this year and ends on April 13, 2019.

Personal choices

Berkarya Party secretary-general Priyo Budi Santoso said that Tommy and Titiek had chosen their constituencies. He said the two candidates’ historical closeness to the constituencies were among the considerations in making a choice, with the hope that this would make it easier for them to win in the election.

In Papua, for instance, Soeharto served as commander of the West Papua Freedom Mandala Operation in 1962. Soeharto also inaugurated the Freeport Sulphur copper mine and Tembagapura city in 1973. Meanwhile, Titiek chose Yogyakarta because Kemusuk village in Bantul, Yogyakarta, was Soeharto’s birthplace.

“Some still have a deep respect for Pak Harto,” Priyo said, using Soeharto’s popular moniker. “We are optimistic that [Titiek and Tommy] will gain enough votes from their respective constituents.”

Separately, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) executive Andreas Pareira said Guruh and Puan had been chosen because they had a base of supporters, to give them a bigger chance at winning. However, it does not mean that they will automatically win seats in the election only with this advantage. They are still required to prove themselves to locals.

“Voters are becoming increasingly smarter. They no longer see just the biological aspect [of candidates], such as them being the children or grandchildren of former presidents. [The candidates] must also show real achievements,” Pareira said.

Democratic Party deputy secretary-general Rachland Nashidik said that despite being the son of a former president, it would not be easy for Ibas to be victorious in the election.

“In a democracy, political power is not an inherited crown. Democracies require leaders to ask for permission from the people, the voters, to get political power. No matter who they are, whether they are children of presidents or simple entertainers, they have equal standing in a democracy,” he explained.

Peaceful election

Amid the tight contestation, people across the regions are hoping for a peaceful election.

Maluku Governor Said Assagaff, for instance, said he hoped that legislative candidates would maintain an amicable atmosphere in the province. He said that politicians should not rely on ethnical, religious, racial or intergroup (SARA) sentiments to secure power as this would rip apart social unity in Maluku, which was once hit by violent SARA-related conflicts.

Said stated that everyone should act maturely. “Politicians should be prepared to win or lose. Everyone should support the winner in developing our region,” he said.

In Padang, West Sumatra, religious, community and customary leaders, as well as election organizers, political party representatives and law enforcers met on Thursday for a peaceful election declaration.

“We urge everyone here to pray for a smooth election in 2019,” Padang Police chief Sr. Adj. Comr. Yulmar Tri Himawan said.

(AGE/GAL/FRN/ZAK/APA)

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