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Joko Widodo: ‘I Won’t Run for President'
January 08, 2012

Solo Mayor Joko Widodo has said a presidential run is out of the question. (JG Photo) Solo Mayor Joko Widodo has said a presidential run is out of the question. (JG Photo)
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padt
8:16pm Jan 8, 2012

He should consider becoming the governor of Jakarta.

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Popular Solo Mayor Joko Widodo, much praised for his pro-people approach and down-to-earth attitude, said on Saturday that he would never run for president.

“I’m not cut out to be a president. I’m not even cut out to be a mayor, look at me,” he said, commenting on mounting calls for him to run in the 2014 elections.

When asked if any political parties had approached him to be their candidate, Joko said he was not expecting any interest. “The post is way too high for me. That’s not my place,” he said.

Previously the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle hinted that it might name Joko as one of its potential candidates to run in the Jakarta gubernatorial elections in 2012.

A graduate of the forestry program at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Joko started his career as a furniture salesman. With no political experience, he decided to run for mayor of Solo in 2005.

In 2008, he became the first Indonesian mayor to be invited by the UN to speak at the Governing Council forum in Geneva.

He has also built up an excellent reputation for running a clean government and being above corruption, for which he received the Bung Hatta Anti-Corruption Award in 2010. In April, the Home Affairs Ministry presented Joko with the “Best Mayor 2011” award. 

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