Jakarta – The Golkar Party planned to announce its candidate for the Jakarta gubernatorial election on Aug. 27, the first day of the official registration period, party chairman Airlangga Hartanto said on Tuesday at the State Palace.
"We'll wait until later, [on] Aug. 27," he said, as quoted by cnnindonesia.com.
Airlangga said the party was still discussing names for pairing with a nominee from the Gerindra Party in consideration of several factors, including their electability based on survey results.
Golkar also plans to announce its West Java gubernatorial ticket on the same day.
"[The candidates for] West Java and Jakarta might be [announced] at the same time," Airlangga said on Monday at the Senayan legislative compound in Jakarta, as quoted by tempo.co.
Golkar is yet to decide on which candidates to endorse in the 2024 regional head elections in the two provinces, though party politician Ridwan Kamil is tipped for reelection as West Java governor.
Ridwan is contemplating a gubernatorial bid in both Jakarta and West Java and has written authorization from Golkar to do so, although the party is evaluating his performance in recent electability surveys in the two provinces.
Asked if Ridwan's dual candidacy had been finalized, Airlangga responded: "No, not yet. We are also assessing West Java."
Golkar deputy chairman Ahmad Doli Kurnia disclosed two weeks ago that Ridwan ranked at the top of the electability polls in West Java. Though he lagged behind other potential candidates in Jakarta, Doli noted that Jakarta's political landscape was more unpredictable than West Java's.
"In the Jakarta survey, Ridwan Kamil actually ranked third," Doli told an event in South Jakarta on June 16, as quoted by tempo.co.
Meanwhile, following a PKS central board meeting on June 20, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) announced on Tuesday that it was nominating Anies Baswedan and Shohibul Iman as its gubernatorial ticket.