President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is still open to the possibility of maintaining his partnership with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, in a bid to win a second term in office, the Democratic Party said Wednesday.
Yudhoyono, however, is waiting for a final say from the Golkar Party, whose leaders will meet on April 23 to decide on which parties to ally with and which presidential candidate to support.
Democratic Party deputy chairman Max Sopacua told a press conference Yudhoyono was seeking a "suitable" running mate. He added Yudhoyono's five-year partnership with Kalla was a proof of their suitability.
"If they didn't suit each other, they would have broken up. We know JK has had five years of experience with SBY," Max said.
More than 30 Golkar provincial branches had urged Kalla - the party's chairman - to announce his bid for the presidency ahead of the April 9 legislative elections.
Quick count results show Golkar in second or third place with about 14 percent of total votes, far less than the Democratic Party's 20 percent.
The results are believed to have prompted Kalla to move closer to Yudhoyono, as seen Monday when the two held talks at the President's private residence in Cikeas, Bogor.
"The problem is, the last development before the legislative elections shows it was *Golkar* that decided *on Kalla's presidential bid*, not Kalla himself. If SBY's running mate should come from Golkar, then it should be Golkar that decides," Max said.
He added the Democratic Party would hold its leadership meeting from April 25-26 to decide on the issue of a coalition.
House of Representatives speaker and Golkar deputy chairman Agung Laksono suggested Golkar set a "realistic" target of seeking a vice presidential position.
"Golkar needs to change the discourse to merely nominate a vice presidential candidate. In this term, we have to prioritize Kalla's candidacy for vice president," Agung said as quoted by Antara.
Golkar's move to snuggle up to the Democratic Party has met with resistance from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which has vowed to quit from the coalition if Golkar signs on.
However, Max stressed no coalition had been formed yet.
Yudhoyono previously said the Democratic Party would only establish a coalition with parties willing to sign political contracts.
