TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Deputy Chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) Fadli Zon, said that his party’s stance on the nomination of DKI Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo as a presidential candidate for the 2014 election remains unchanged. Fadli stated that Gerindra wanted Jokowi to stay in office as Jakarta's governor until 2017.
"Jokowi himself said that he would finish his tasks in Jakarta," Fadli added when contacted on Monday, September 30.
Nevertheless, Fadli confirmed that Gerindra will provide support if Jokowi ended up being nominated.
"However, because [Gerindra] had brought him to Jakarta, we want Jokowi to create a new Jakarta first," he said.
Fadli's statement, however, was in contradiction with a statement made by the Chairman of Gerindra's Board of Advisors Prabowo Subianto, who takes little concern about Jokowi's nomination as a presidential candidate by the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP). Previously on Saturday, September 29, Prabowo claimed that he was ready to compete with Jokowi in the 2014 presidential election.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of PDI-P's National Executive Board Maruarar Sirait, said that Prabowo's statement should not be considered as an indication that PDIP will certainly nominate Jokowi.
"The decision lies on the hands of the PDI-P's general chairperson," he said.
Regarding Jokowi's electability, which often came out on top in a survey, Secretary General of PDI-P Tjahjo Kumolo stated that his party will not rely solely on a survey result to determine a presidential candidate.
"We are very careful about presidential candidates. We will still examine the result of the survey," he said in Yogyakarta on Monday, September 30.
KHAIRUL ANAM | ALI AKHMAD | PRIBADI WICAKSONO | NURHASIM
