Jakarta – NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh held a meeting on Thursday night with Defense Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto pledging his full support for the incoming administration and dropping the party's support for Anies Baswedan's bid in the Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Speaking alongside Prabowo after the meeting, Surya said this was not the moment for Anies to contest November's gubernatorial election and that he could always make an effort in the future.
"I have spoken to Anies and I told him as an older brother that this is not your moment to run in Jakarta's gubernatorial election. We will find the right opportunity in the future," Surya said, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
Surya added that in his meeting with Prabowo, he conveyed to the president-elect that the party's final decision would be to back his incoming administration.
"With all the power that we have we will contribute to making the incoming administration a success and we hope that NasDem will not be an additional burden," Surya said.
Surya's statement further reinforced the party's position in backing away from Anies' gubernatorial bid in the November regional election.
NasDem's move follows the decision by the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) to drop its support for Anies, despite being the first to nominate the former Jakarta governor and unsuccessful presidential candidate.
The PKS is now firmly behind the ticket of Ridwan Kamil, a Golkar Party politician backed by the ruling coalition, in the Jakarta gubernatorial election.