Apriadi Gunawan, Jakarta – Incumbent deputy governor Musa "Ijeck" Rajekshah of the Golkar Party declared his readiness to compete in the upcoming North Sumatra gubernatorial election, amid speculation that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's son-in-law, Bobby Nasution, would also run on Golkar's ticket.
Bobby, who serves as Medan mayor with the backing of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), indicated earlier that he had received a letter from Golkar asking him to run for governor. The statement ruffled feathers at Golkar's North Sumatra office, which reportedly endorsed Ijeck to fill the position.
Ijeck admitted recently that he had also received a letter from Golkar endorsing him to run for North Sumatra governor. He met Bobby later on to discuss their candidacy.
Ijeck revealed that the husband of President Jokowi's only daughter Kahiyang Ayu advised him to continue working properly, and "let the survey decide [who will be nominated from Golkar]," he stated, reiterating Bobby's statement.
"Whatever the decision will be, I am ready to run in the North Sumatra gubernatorial election," he emphasized during Golkar's post-Ramadhan gathering in Medan on Saturday. Ijeck, the chairman of the Golkar North Sumatra branch, served as the province's deputy governor from 2018 to 2023.
Branch secretary Datok Ilhamsyah said previously that Golkar's grassroots members would prefer to support their branch head for governor in the upcoming election.
Golkar executive Meutya Hafid, however, insisted that the authority to decide which candidates would be nominated for regional elections lay solely with the central board. "The decision will be made here and not [at the local level]," she said, as quoted by Tempo.
Bobby ran as Medan mayor in 2020 on a PDI-P ticket but then switched his allegiance to Golkar in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, in line with Jokowi's move to break away from the PDI-P to support winning pair Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the latter being Jokowi's eldest son.
Although the PDI-P did not prohibit Bobby from collecting the election registration forms via a PDI-P channel, the party said he should not waste his time and energy after he was blacklisted by the party. PDI-P itself has hinted at nominating retired Army general Edy Rahmayadi, who governed the province until his term ended in September 2023.
"He [Bobby] may collect registration forms in the PDI-P as he wishes," said Aswan Jaya, a top official at the PDI-P North Sumatra branch. "However, he should know that it will be difficult for the PDI-P to resume supporting him in regional or gubernatorial elections because he has formally left the party."
In response, Bobby stated that he would keep good communication with the PDI-P, nonetheless. He also planned to take the registration form from the party.
"Insya Allah [God Willing], I will try to take registration forms from as many parties as possible," he said. Bobby further claimed to have secured support from a number of parties in addition to Golkar.
"Some parties [have sent their support] verbally, while Golkar handed over a letter of assignment directly," Bobby stated without specifying the names of the parties.
The National Mandate Party (PAN), a part of the broad political alliance that helped Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo win the 2024 presidential election, has endorsed Bobby's bid for North Sumatra's top position.
"PAN plans to nominate Bobby for the North Sumatra regional election. This will be the second time that PAN has supported Bobby, the first time being when he ran for Medan mayor," PAN deputy chairman Viva Yoga Mauladi said earlier this month, as quoted by Tribunnews.
Prabowo, meanwhile, has hinted at his support for Bobby's gubernatorial candidacy, saying that he is not too young to run should the people of North Sumatra want him to.
Source: https://asianews.network/golkar-branch-head-up-against-jokowis-son-in-law-for-north-sumatra-governor