TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chairman of the National Democratic Party (NasDem), Surya Paloh, said that his party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) support the same presidential candidate, Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo.
"NasDem is pleased to announce that our party and PDI-P support the same presidential candidate," said Surya Paloh at the Headquarter of NasDem in Gondangdia, Central Jakarta, yesterday.
Surya said the reason to support Jokowi's candidacy is to strengthen the presidential government system. He added that his meeting did not discuss matters related to the vice presidential candidate. Surya said the party did not rule out the possibility of coming up with suggestions for vice president, either from within NasDem or outside the party.
NasDem has no objection should PDI-P carry out political communication with other parties. The discussion did not talk about ministers or cabinet, however, if requested, NasDem would offer the best candidates. "We have the best candidates to be appointed in the right positions," Surya said.
The result of the quick-count shows that PDI-P wins the election with 18-20 percent of the vote, while NasDem garners 6-7 percent.
The presidential threshold states a party can nominate its own presidential candidate if it wins 25 percent of the legislative election or 20 percent of the seat in the parliament.
SUNDARI