Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has said that the political parties who supported him in the 2017 gubernatorial election had the prerogative of choosing his new deputy governor.
The post has been vacant for nearly half a year after Sandiaga Uno stepped down to run as the Gerindra Party's 2019 vice-presidential candidate in this year's elections alongside party patron Prabowo Subianto.
"It is up to the political parties. They will decide as they have the right [to name a Jakarta deputy governor]," he said at the sidelines of a New Year's Eve celebration held on Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta on Monday evening.
He added that as governor, he did not have a say in the matter. "Let's just wait for the decision from the political parties."
Anies and Sandiaga were endorsed by Gerindra and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in the 2017 gubernatorial elections.
Longtime allies, the two parties were previously at loggerheads over candidates for the post. They finally agreed to give the seat to a PKS politician and the latter subsequently offered up two names to be proposed as candidates. However, Gerindra insisted that the candidates be determined through an internal fit and proper test between the two parties.
The names would first be proposed to the Jakarta Council, which would then hold a plenary meeting to make the final decision on a deputy governor.
Anies previously said he felt overwhelmed by the slew of invitations and events he must attend without a deputy to whom they can be delegated. (ars)