Jakarta. Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, recently said that it is very unlikely his party will support Anies Baswedan for the Jakarta gubernatorial election due to "principle matters."

Anies was elected Jakarta governor after defeating incumbent Ahok in the heated 2017 election, which was marred by sectarian issues and massive rallies by Muslims against the sitting Christian governor. After his election defeat, Ahok was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to two years in prison in a case brought by his political rivals. He has since joined PDI-P, which promotes democracy and pluralism in its party lines.

"PDI-P uses conscience in doing business and sticks to principles in politics. In principle, I think it’s hard for PDI-P to support Brother Anies," Ahok said in Jakarta on Saturday. 

However, he admitted that anything can happen in politics. 

"Let’s see what the future will bring. We don’t know if the party abruptly lends its support [to Anies], because this is politics," Ahok said.

Anies, who retired as governor in 2022, is seeking reelection. While he is the early frontrunner according to many polls, Anies still needs to win the support of political parties with enough seats in the Jakarta legislature to meet the election threshold for his candidacy. 

He has so far received support from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which still cannot meet the threshold. PKS also required that Anies appoint former party chairman Sohibul Iman as a running mate.

The National Democratic Party (Nasdem) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) have signaled their support but have not made official confirmations so far ahead of the deadline late this month. 

Other incumbent parties are very likely to nominate former West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil for the Jakarta election in their coalition, which opens the door for Nasdem and PKB to join.

Anies’ reelection bid will hang in the balance if the two parties join the Ridwan coalition and PDI-P refuses to support him. However, Anies remains calm and said on Sunday that he stays out of the dynamics involving political parties ahead of the November 27 election.

"Let the political process flow naturally, but my focus remains the same -- do the best for Jakarta residents," Anies said. He said the election cycle should become a momentum to discuss programs and agendas for the Jakarta people, not dominated by issues about candidates and political coalitions.

"It’s all about the Jakarta people who demand better public services and prosperity," Anies said.