Jokowi: VP Candidate Must be Chosen Carefully

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The presidential candidate for the Indonesia Democratic Party Struggle (PDIP) Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated that care must be taken when deciding on a vice presidential candidate because it is about the fate of the nation and state.

"The decision must be made and calculated carefully as this is not only a matter of Jokowi, PDIP or Nasdem but it has to do with the fate of nation and state," he asserted at the Jakarta City Hall, here on Monday when asked about his possible running mate.

Jokowi who is also Jakarta governor explained with regard to his running mate that he could potentially be a civilian, a military or a politician, but he declined to mention names.

"The three potential candidates could be civilian, military member or politician. I cannot as yet mention a name because we still have a month to decide. So, we must not hurry," he clarified.

Jokowi noted on Sunday that the list of potential vice presidential candidates to accompany him in the run for president in the upcoming election on July 9, has already been shortened from five to three.

He added that PDIPs general chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri, along with the General Chairman of the National Democrat Party (Nasdem), Surya Paloh, will take part in deciding the PDIPs vice presidential candidate.

PDIP and Nasdem have agreed to cooperate to meet the next presidential election.

Jokowi pointed out, "We cannot as yet make the names of our vice presidential candidates known. We are still open to cooperate with anyone about it."

PDIPs Deputy Secretary General Ahmad Basarah meanwhile stated that the two main principles for deciding the vice presidential candidate are that the person must help ensure victory and make the next government effective.

He added that after attending a discussion on "Partiess Internal Dynamics ahead of the 2014 Presidential Elections", in Menteng on Sunday, these two principles would be the basis for consideration by Megawati Soekarnoputri in deciding PDIPs vice presidential candidate.

"That is aimed at benefiting the people of Indonesia," he explained.

PDIP was the winner of the legislative elections on April garnering around 19 percent of votes according to unofficial counts, followed by Golkar Party in the second place and Gerindra in the third place.

PDIPs vote collection however, is still far below the presidential threshold set at 25 percent of national votes and therefore the party has to cooperate with other parties to meet it in order to be able to ensure its presidential nominee, Jokowi. (WDY)