0 Pastika to pair with Karangasem regent in next poll

Karangasem regent Wayan Geredeg will likely be appointed as Made Mangku Pastika’s running mate in the upcoming gubernatorial election slated for May 15. Speaking with journalists in Denpasar on Tuesday, Pastika said that the Democratic Party had officially supported his reelection bid, as he met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Democratic Party chief patron, on Jan. 10. “Yes, the Democratic Party will endorse me. My running mate will be from Golkar. 

Golkar has submitted two candidates to be my running mate. They asked me to choose one,” Pastika said. The two candidates are Badung Deputy Regent Ketut Sudikerta, who is also chairman of Golkar’s Bali office, and Karangasem Regent Wayan Geredeg. “If I go with Pak Sudikerta, it will be Pasti-Kerta. If I go with Pak Geredeg, we would be called Pasti-Geredeg. Which one do you think will sound better?” Pastika asked journalists. Pastika did not clearly explain that Geredeg would be his running mate. 

However, he admitted that Sudikerta intended to focus on running for the post of Badung regent. Repeatedly, on many occasions, Sudikerta said that he was not interested in becoming deputy governor. Previously, Sudikerta had also said that he was willing to develop Badung area instead. Sudikerta will likely run for the post of Badung regent in the 2015 election. Pastika has frequently praised Geredeg’s performance as the regent of the poorest regency in Bali. He said that teamwork with Geredeg would be great to accelerate poverty eradication programs, one of his top priorities for Bali. 

Pastika and Geredeg have been seen to have a good, close relationship, as many of Pastika’s initiative programs are being implemented in Karangasem. During his first days as Bali governor in 2008, Pastika visited poor villages in Karangasem. He also implemented the Bedah Rumah (Home Renovation) program for the first time in remote villages in Karangasem. Separately, Geredeg told Bali Daily by phone that he had not been informed about who would be Pastika’s running mate. However, he admitted that he was ready to fulfill that role if the Golkar Party and Pastika would give him a chance. 

“I appreciate whatever my party’s decision is. If they give me a chance, I will do my best,” he said. In addition to the Democratic Party and Golkar, Pastika’s reelection bid is also being supported by three other parties: the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura) and the National Mandate Party (PAN). The coalition of five parties had been waiting for Pastika’s decision for the last few months, as the retired three-star police general had been waiting to see if the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which supported him during the 2008 election, would endorse him. 

Speculation about the PDI-P’s candidate has been heating up. Current popular belief has it that AAN Puspayoga, the incumbent deputy governor, will be the most likely candidate from the PDI-P. Pastika and Puspayoga won the 2008 gubernatorial election by a landslide after securing the endorsement of the PDI-P. The rift between them erupted after Puspayoga, a seasoned PDI-P politician who apparently harbors an ambition to be the island’s No. 1, forged an alliance with Satria Naradha, who owns the island’s biggest daily, Bali Post, and Bali TV. 

Naradha-controlled news outlets have continuously portrayed Pastika as a failed leader, while at the same time promoting Puspayoga as the best candidate for governorship. Previously, Pastika said that he was actually hoping to get the PDI-P’s endorsement for his reelection bid. Unfortunately, he had received no response from the biggest party on the island. “Time is running out and I have to make a decision. Do not ever think that I am not loyal [to the PDI-P], but I put the interests of Bali and its people above everything else,” said Pastika.

source : bali daily