Heru Andriyanto, Surabaya – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said on Sunday that he won't stand in the way of his oldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, running as the vice-presidential candidate alongside presidential nominee Prabowo Subianto, who represents a rival coalition to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Like his father, Gibran is an executive of PDI-P, which played a crucial role in his successful mayoral election in Solo, Central Java.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Surabaya, President Jokowi expressed his stance, saying that his adult son is capable of making his own decisions, and as a father, he can only offer his blessing.

"He is an adult, so I can't intervene much in his decisions," Jokowi said of Gibran.

During the interview posted on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube account, Prabowo stood just behind the president.

While Prabowo has yet to formally announce his choice for a running mate, there are several other potential candidates to consider, including State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir and former West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil.

Gibran's nomination received a significant boost when the Golkar Party, a key member of the Prabowo coalition, officially designated him as their running mate nominee during an internal gathering on Saturday.

Jokowi refrained from commenting on this development and suggested that members of the media direct their questions to the political parties within the Prabowo camp.

"The presidential office has no business in decisions made by political parties such as Golkar," Jokowi said.

The president was in the East Java capital to lead a ceremony commemorating the National Muslim Student (Santri) Day.

Indonesia is scheduled to hold a three-way presidential election in February. Former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and his running mate Muhaimin Iskandar registered themselves with the General Election Commission (KPU) on Thursday. They were followed by rival candidate Ganjar Pranowo, who selected Chief Security Minister Mohammad Mahfud as his running mate.

Ganjar, a former two-term governor of Central Java, has the backing of the PDI-P. Prabowo has only three days remaining to announce his running mate and register with the KPU.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/jokowi-gives-his-blessing-to-gibrans-veep-bi