voters opposed to Islamic sectarianism

In the regional elections in Indonesia, the candidates of the alliance between Jokowi and Prabowo won everywhere, except in the large metropolises where – without forgetting what happened six years ago with the campaign against the Christian governor Ahok – the citizens seem to have punished the attempt of the Kamil-Suswono duo to court radical Islamic groups.

Jakarta () – The Indonesian regional elections, which were held simultaneously throughout the country for the first time on November 27, have largely confirmed that the outgoing president Jokowi – who a few weeks ago passed the baton to his former rival Prabowo, who has become his ally – continues to have a great influence on the country’s politics: in Central Java and East Java, two key provinces of the country, two governors were elected that he supports. But this general picture seems to have had one important exception: the result of the gubernatorial election in Jakarta. Because?

In what, despite the official inauguration of Nusantara, will long remain the de facto capital of the country, the PDIP – the party of former president Megawati, Jokowi’s current rival – supported the former secretary of the Indonesian government, Pramono Anung , accompanied as a candidate for lieutenant governor by film producer Rano Karno. According to the first results, the couple would have surpassed the 50% threshold that allows them to avoid a runoff by a handful of votes. However, Ridwan Kamil and his vice Suswono, the candidates supported by Gonkar (the alliance between Prabowo and Joko Widodo) do not accept victory and, pending the official verdict of the electoral commission, continue to call for a second round.

The importance of the result in Jakarta actually goes far beyond the confrontation between Jokowi and Megawati. Pramono’s statement, in effect, is the result of the lesson learned by the local electorate in the 2017 vote, when the then governor of Jakarta Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama was defeated in the second round by Anies Baswedan, a controversial former Minister of Education of the Jokowi government.

Ahok – a Christian and symbolic figure of the nation’s unity – carried out the fight against corruption and uncontrolled spending during his mandate. To fulfill his political ambition to lead Jakarta, Anies had adopted a markedly Islamic profile during the election campaign, often wearing a white shirt and the traditional peci (Indonesian headdress). With electoral messages not too veiled, he insisted on affirming that Jakarta, as a Muslim-majority city, deserved a Muslim governor. While Ahok even ended up being accused of blasphemy for quoting a verse from the Koran during an election campaign.

In the end, Anies won and then ruled Jakarta for two terms, during which he completely nullified everything good that Governor Ahok had previously built. Many public works projects that had already begun were postponed and became totally unviable, while public resources were wasted to host Formula E automobile competitions.

In these elections, it was the alliance of Prabowo and Jokowi that tried to play the card of Muslim identity, placing alongside its presidential candidate Kamil a vice like Suswono, a figure close to the Islamic Party of Justice and Prosperity (PKS). The support of this formation for the Kamil-Suswono duo was even announced during a meeting in Mecca. This time, however, Jakarta voters – instead of paying attention to the confrontation between Megawati and Jokowi – appear to have opted for the couple freer of any kind of ties to radical Islamic groups, including the disputed Islamic Defense Front (FPI). ), identified with the nationalists Pramono and Rano who did not use religious arguments to promote their popularity.

Finally, it is worth noting the results obtained by some Catholic personalities in these local elections. In Semarang, capital of Central Java, a woman of Chinese origin, Agustina Wilujeng Pramesti, defeated all other candidates and will become the first Catholic mayor of Semarang. In South Sulawesi’s North Toraja district, Andrew – another Catholic – will become vice mayor, taking up the legacy of outgoing mayor Yohanis Bassang. Finally, Sherly Tjoanda, a Christian politician, will preside over Nord Maluku, a predominantly Muslim territory, as the new governor, succeeding her husband, who died in an accident.