TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Syamsudin Haris argues that a third alternative presidential candidate other than Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Prabowo Subianto is needed in the 2019 Presidential Election.

Syamsudin worries that it will spark greater political and social discordance if the public’s choices are limited to the two men. “Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) has a chance based on his presidential candidacy threshold,” he said at the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) on Tuesday, March 6.

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The presidential threshold set by the Presidential Election Law is 20 percent of the House of Representative slots or 25 percent of the national legislative election’s legitimate votes. Haris reasoned that the law has limited the availability of alternative candidates for the presidency.

Other potential names from political party chairman include Muhaimin Iskandar, Airlangga Hartarto, and Zulkifli Hasan. Meanwhile, Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, Sri Mulyani, and Susi Pudjiastuti could also be alternative candidates from the current administration.

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Other names now considered as public figures or organization leaders are Mahfud MD, Yenny Wahid, and Haedar Nashir. Other potential names that caught the attention of pollsters are Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, Anies Baswedan, and Gatot Nurmantyo.

The coalition of the names, Haris said, can be the third alternative group to avoid social discordance due to the 2019 Presidential Election.

M Julnis Firmansyah