Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's son-in-law Bobby Afif Nasution met with Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto to talk about the former's plan to run in the 2020 Medan mayoral race in North Sumatra.
The meeting took place at Prabowo's residence on Jl. Kartanegara in South Jakarta on Saturday at noon.
"Today is a silaturahmi [friendly meeting] with Bobby Nasution as one of the candidates for Medan mayor," Gerindra deputy chairman Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said on Saturday as quoted by kompas.com.
He said Prabowo, the current defense minister, told Bobby to open communication with all political parties, especially their local branches. Sufmi, however, said the party chairman had yet to issue any recommendation to support Bobby's candidacy.
"He is indeed the first candidate [in next year's regional election] to [meet personally] with Pak Prabowo. Gerindra will make decisions regarding the regional election by the end of January," Sufmi said.
Prabowo's spokesperson Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak also emerged as a candidate for the Medan election. He said he would run if people wanted him to.
Bobby, a property investor, previously met with a number of political parties in North Sumatra, including the Golkar Party and the NasDem Party.
He submitted Medan mayoral candidate nomination forms to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) North Sumatra branch earlier this month. The party is now processing his application.
Bobby had dismissed concerns suggesting he was building a First Family political dynasty in the country, saying his intention to join the race had nothing to do with building a political legacy under Jokowi's name.
The Medan mayoral election will be held next year in conjunction with 22 other elections at the regency and city levels in North Sumatra. (kuk)