Anies Baswedan Prepares to be President After Stepping Down as Jakarta Governor

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - History is repeating. Anies Baswedan is preparing to become the president of Indonesia as he left his post as Jakarta governor. Anies' political maneuver is similar to what President Joko Widodo did when he ran for presidency in 2014 after stepping down as Jakarta governor. However, Anies Baswedan managed to finish his last day as governor on Sunday, 16 October 2022.

Earlier this month, Anies Baswedan already announced his presidential candidacy with the Partai Nasional Demokrat (Nasdem). Nasdem party is part of Jokowi's government coalition. The next general election will take place in 2024.

Anies Baswedan said farewell to his Jakartan supporters on Sunday during the Car Free Day. His supporters surrounded him and asked for selfies around Bundaran HI.

Anies then resumed his journey to the City Hall where his supporters were heard shouting, "president! president!"

To his supporters, Anies promises that he is ready for the future.

"One act is done, let's welcome the next act," said Anies Baswedan. "Working for Indonesia will not stop in this place."

In the City Hall, Anies was accompanied by his wife, children, and son-in-law when he listened to the compliments from his supporters.

One of the representation of Anies' supporters in the City Hall thanked Anies Basweden for "humanizing" the people. Another representation said the five-year term is too short. "We wanted to extend it if possible," said a woman named Eni.

Anies Baswedan became the Jakarta governor in 2017 after defeating the incumbent Basuki Tjahja Purnama (Ahok) in a divisive election marred by racism, hoaxes, and religious controversy. Ahok was previously a deputy governor under Jokowi.

Anies' last days as governor was also met with criticism from the PDI-Perjuangan faction in Jakarta regional parliament. According to them, Anies' programs are showing unclear implementations. 

The head of PDI-Perjuangan Faction, Gembong Warsono, pointed out the Mid-Term Regional Development Plans (RPJMD) for 2017-2022. He said there are many unrealized plans. 

"If we see from the RPJMD 2017-2022, there are a lot of promises and programs with unclear realizations, and very terrible performances. It could be said that Mr. Anies is Governor Zero percent who is only beautiful in words and speeches," said Gembong.

PDI-Perjuangan is the national ruling party.

The "zero percent" refers to Anies Baswedan's zero rupiah housing plan. During his gubernatorial campaign, Anies promised that house buyers  would not need to pay down payment, thus it would be easier for them to purchase. 

Gembong pointed out that Anies only managed to build 2,332 units for the zero rupiah, although the original target was more than 200 thousand units.

Gembong also mentioned the failure to build Science Park, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), Park & Ride facility, and Smart Park which has 175 target locations.

On Sunday, Anies Baswedan also met with the elites of Nasdem party. However, Anies is still reluctant to detail his plans as the presidential candidate.

"There will be next steps when we are ready to announce," said Anies. He also explained that the meeting with Nasdem officials was only an ordinary conversation.

Among his potential rivals are the Speaker of the House of Representatives Puan Maharani, Minister for Defense Prabowo Subianto, and Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto. Another is the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Agus Harimukti Yudhoyono (AHY).

Each of them has a strong political basis, Puan with the ruling party PDI-Perjuangan, Prabowo with the Gerindra Party, Airlangga with the Golkar Party, and AHY is backed by the Democratic Party. 

Two other governors are also mentioned as potential presidential candidates: Ridwan Kamil of West Java and Ganjar Pranowo of Middle Java. 

However, Ridwan still has not secured solid political support, although the National Mandate Party (PAN) is reportedly interested in supporting him. Meanwhile, Ganjar is part of PDI-Perjuangan where Puan is effectively in power.

Puan Maharani has started to travel all over countries to meet her supporters. And if Prabowo really joins the 2024 election, that will be his fourth general election as one of the candidates. Previously, he ran for vice president with Megawati Soekarnoputri, and then as president twice, but lost in all of them.

Winda Nelfira, Ahda Bayhaqi, and Delvira Hutabarat contributed to this report.