Jakarta – Chairman of the Golkar Party Advisory Council, Akbar Tanjung, denied that the party had considered nominating the daughter of former president Soeharto, Siti Hediati "Titiek" Hariyadi as a running mate for party chairman Aburizal Bakrie in the 2014 presidential election.

Akbar said there had never been talks about pairing Aburizal with Titiek. "Titiek is only a legislative candidate representing Yogyakarta – We never had discussions about nominating her as vice presidential candidate," Akbar said, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Akbar also said that finding a running mate for Aburizal would be discussed after the April 9 legislative election. The Golkar Party has officially nominated Aburizal as its presidential candidate in 2014.

Analysts said that Golkar, currently the country's second-biggest party based on parliamentary seats, would remain strong in the legislative election. However, they added it would be difficult for the party to win the presidency, regardless of the legislative result, given Aburizal's tarnished image.