Jokowi Starts Political Career from District Party Level

Solo, Central Java (Antara) - Presidential-elect Joko Widodo said here on Thursday he had started his political career from the Brengosan office of the Indonesia Democratic Party Struggle (PDIP) chapter in Laweyan, Solo, central Java. "This office reminds me of the start of my political career by running for city mayor," he said when visiting the office. During the visit, marked by a tree-planting event, he was accompanied by Solo Mayor Hadi Ridyatmo. "I started my political career at the grassroots and first met Hadi Rudyatmo in 2004. I later ran for Solo mayor in 2005 with Rudyatmo as my running mate," he recalled. Before visiting the PDIP branch office, he met pedicab drivers at Nongko, Gede, and Solo wholesale markets and along the city's Slamet Riyadi main road to thank them for their support. Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, currently Jakarta governor, had recently been declared by the General Elections Commission (KPU) as the winner of the July 9 presidential election. He ran for president with former vice president Jusuf Kalla as his running mate. His rival, former military figure Prabowo Subianto who paired with former economic minister Hatta Rajasa, however, had rejected the results of the election citing massive and systematic frauds in a number of regions in the country and had filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court. (*) Reported by Bambang Dwi Marwoto