Former Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD has said that he has engaged in talks with a number of political parties for a possible coalition to support his presidential bid.

"We have exchanged our opinions but nothing has been finalized. They have to wait for the results of the general election," Mahfud said as quoted by kompas.com.

Mahfud added that he had made no decision about which political parties he would pick as his political vehicles. "I still need to study them. I don't know if I will join the Muslim-based parties as we all know some of the Muslim parties are run by crooks," he said.

Mahfud's name has consistently appeared at the top of opinion surveys fielded by many pollsters. He said on Tuesday that he had also established a small team to work on his candidacy.

The controversial court justice had previously said, however, that he planned to return to Yogyakarta to teach after stepping down from his post.