Mahyeldi Ansharullah is an Indonesian politician from the Prosperous Justice Party who is the current mayor of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra. He was made mayor in 2014, following a five-year tenure as deputy and a victory in the elections of 2013. Active in Islamic dawah since his years in Andalas University, he became a member of the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party and first became an elected official in 2004 when he was elected to the city council. His programs as mayor of Padang has included the improvement of the city's infrastructure and hygiene, in addition to education with an added emphasis on studies of the Quran. In March 2020, Mahyeldi said he will waive his six months salary amid coronavirus pandemic.
Personal life
Born in the city of Bukittinggi as the first son of seven siblings, his father was a becak driver. He began showing interest in dawah in his teen years, when he was studying in a local junior high school. After completing his 12th year of study in Bukittinggi, he continued his education in Andalas University at Padang, the provincial capital.
Career
Ansharullah began his political activity following the fall of Suharto, joining the newly formed Prosperous Justice Party where he became the provincial chairman between 2002-2005. He took part in the 2004 elections and won a seat in the provincial council as deputy speaker. He then resigned to run in the 2008 local elections as deputy mayor with Fauzi Bahar as his running mate. Following their victory, he was made deputy mayor on 18 February the following year. In the next election on 2013, he ran with Emzalmi against 9 other candidates for mayorship. After securing just 29.45% of the votes in the first round, he won 50.29% of the votes in the runoffs. Despite an initial challenge to the Constitutional Court, he was officially made mayor on 13 May 2014.
As mayor
He established pesantren in the ramadhanin public schools on 2015 where it had formerly been held in mosques, and offered scholarships to students who had memorized sufficient Juz' of the Quran. In 2018, he led a rally attended by thousands which denounced LGBT individuals.
