Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Bahlil Lahadalia urged the public to choose local leaders with strong connections to the central government as he attended a campaign rally of Central Java gubernatorial candidate Ahmad Luthfi in Sragen on Thursday.
"Do not choose a leader without connections to the central government. Pak Luthfi has those connections," said Bahlil, as reported by tempo.co, quoting from a statement from the Ahmad Luthfi-Taj Yasin campaign team.
The energy and mineral resources minister supported Luthfi, citing his deep understanding of Central Java.
Previously, Luthfi served as the Surakarta City Police chief, when former president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was serving as mayor in the city, popularly known as Solo. Luthfi was later appointed Central Java Police chief.
Apart from Luthfi, Bahlil also expressed confidence that regional head candidates supported by the Golkar Party in various cities and regencies would secure victories.
He emphasized the importance of maximizing the final days of the 2024 regional head election campaign period by mobilizing all available resources to ensure success for the party's endorsed candidates.
"The preparations are solid. We just need to maximize them. Based on Golkar's political calculations, God willing, Pak Luthfi will win. In Solo, the victory will be even greater, and in Sragen, even more so," said Bahlil at a local eatery in Colomadu district, Karanganyar regency, Central Java, on Thursday, as quoted by tempo.co.
Golkar is one of the parties backing the Luthfi-Yasin ticket in the Central Java gubernatorial election. The pair is supported by the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM) Plus.
In the Central Java gubernatorial election, the Luthfi-Yasin ticket is competing against Andika Perkasa and Hendrar Prihadi, endorsed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
According to most electability surveys, the two candidate pairs are separated by only a few percentage points.
Golkar Party provincial executive board secretary Juliyatmono urged Golkar candidates running for regent and mayoral positions to make every effort to secure victories on Nov. 27.
"We support Luthfi-Yasin in the Central Java gubernatorial election. Especially in the Greater Surakarta region, we hope candidates supported by Golkar in Karanganyar, Sragen Wonogiri as well as Boyolali and Solo city can win," he said.
He emphasized that such wins would align local administrations' programs with those of President Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, enabling accelerated progress in fulfilling the President's vision.
"This moment also coincides with Golkar's 60th anniversary, bringing an extraordinary sense of spirit," Juliyatmono said.