March 14, 2024
JAKARTA – The names of Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) chairman Kaesang Pangarep and his wife Erina Gudono have emerged as potential contenders in the upcoming regional elections, amid concerns that their first forays onto the electoral stage are part of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s dynasty-building attempts.
Kaesang, who is Jokowi’s youngest son, is currently among the list of the names his political party is considering to run in the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election, according to PSI Jakarta branch head Elva Farhi Qolbina, kompas.id reported.
Other names being considered are acting Jakarta governor Heru Budi Hartono and former West Java governor Ridwan Kamil.
Aside from Jakarta, the PSI chairman was previously rumored as a candidate for mayor of Surakarta, Central Java, to replace his older brother Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto’s running mate in last month’s presidential election. The pair are projected to have won the election according to unofficial results by pollsters.
Should Kaesang decide to run in Surakarta, the Gerindra Party and Golkar Party were ready to “give him the green light,” said Antonius Yogo Prabowo, head of the PSI’s Central Java branch, as quoted by tempo.co.
Gerindra and Golkar supported the Prabowo-Gibran presidential bid in the election.
Kaesang’s wife Erina’s name has also been raised with regard to the election in Sleman regency, Yogyakarta. It was suggested that Gerindra would endorse her.
However, Gerindra’s Sleman branch head HR Sukaptana said the party was still communicating with other parties, such as Golkar, to gather enough electoral seats to nominate Erina in the November election.
In Sleman, Gerindra is still short of four seats of the 10 needed to nominate a regent and vice regent candidate pair.
Born in the United States and raised in Yogyakarta, Erina was formerly a model and beauty pageant contestant, representing Yogyakarta in the 2022 Puteri Indonesia competition. She finished in the top-11 round.
Her popularity grew further in late 2022 when she married Kaesang, who was still managing his food and beverage businesses and gaining online popularity through his vlogs on YouTube.
Despite his lack of political experience, Kaesang became PSI chairman in September last year, only two days after being inducted as a party member.
Dynasty speculation
Should Kaesang and Erina run successfully in the regional elections, they would add to the list of Jokowi’s family members playing roles in the government.
Gibran, the President’s eldest son, had been Surakarta mayor since 2021 before he decided to run with Prabowo in the 2024 presidential election. He was able to run thanks to a controversial Constitutional Court ruling that revised the requirements for becoming a presidential or vice presidential candidate.
Jokowi’s son-in-law Bobby Nasution currently serves as the mayor of Medan, North Sumatra, being elected some years after marrying the President’s second daughter Kahiyang Ayu. He is rumored to be interested in running in the upcoming North Sumatra gubernatorial election.
Kaesang and Erina’s possible dip into politics is being seen as another effort by Jokowi, who will step down from office in October, to secure a political dynasty. Something for which many analysts have criticized the outgoing president.
“The political dynasty argument is unavoidable,” said political researcher Noory Okthariza of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Wednesday, “but I think this one shows an extreme attitude [by the President].”
He added that political parties had started to realize the potential electoral gain from sticking close to Jokowi, even with figures like Kaesang and Erina, who have almost zero experience or public interest in politics.
Neither Kaesang nor Erina have made comments on the reports about their potential candidacies.
The parties have refrained from making any comments regarding either Kaesang or Erina’s potential candidacies as they await the official election results, which are not due until March 20.
Golkar will establish a team to evaluate any figures the party might nominate in the upcoming regional elections, including Erina, senior party executive Dave Laksono said on Monday, as quoted by tribunnews.com.
The PSI is also holding off from commenting further on Kaesang’s plans ahead of the simultaneous regional elections, as the 29-year-old does not meet the age requirement to run for governor.
The Regional Elections Law mandates that a gubernatorial candidate must be at least 30 years old, while anyone running for regency or mayoralty posts must be at least 25 years old.