Jakarta – Chairman of the NasDem Party Surya Paloh said on Thursday that it was very likely the party's presidential candidate Anies Baswedan could have National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar as his running mate and that the decision would be formalized very soon.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday night, Surya said a formal announcement for an Anies-Muhaimin presidential ticket would be made in the next couple of days.
"The decision is very likely although it is not formal yet. Let's wait for a new development in the next one or two days," Surya was quoted by Antara as saying.
Surya, joined by Anies, held a meeting with Muhaimin on Tuesday at the NasDem headquarters in Central Jakarta, during which the NasDem chairman was reported to have agreed on the proposal to have the PKB chairman as the former Jakarta governor's running mate in next year's election.
Democratic Party leadership, which had expected that Anies would pick Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono as his running mate has responded furiously to the prospect of an Anies-Muhaimin ticket.
Some senior Democrat politicians have called Anies a traitor and an opportunist.
"The series of events represent treason toward the spirit of change and also a betrayal of the Coalition Pact that has been agreed by the three political parties," Democratic Party secretary-general Teuku Riefky Harsya said, referring to the NasDem Party, Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) which had joined forces to nominate Anies.
Teuku added that Anies had also broken his own promise of picking Agus as his running mate in next year's election.
Earlier on Thursday, Surya held a meeting with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the Presidential Palace during which the two politicians discussed a range of issues including the latest political development.
Surya also claimed that they also discussed the possible pairing of Anies and Muhaimin during the meeting.