President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will take loyalty and the absence of vested interests into account in selecting his potential running mate for the upcoming  presidential election.

Speaking to reporters at his residence in Cikeas, Bogor, Yudhoyono did not drop any names, but a political analyst said the criteria could see the Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla dumped out of the race.

Yudhoyono insisted that his next vice president display loyalty to the president as the head of

state and therefore put national interests behind their own or group interests.

"There has been [public] misunderstanding in which the president and vice president are perceived as co-chairmen. The Constitution very clearly says the president is assisted by the vice president," he said.

He admitted he had provided Vice President Kalla with a bigger role in his administration as Cabinet chief of staff, but insisted there was no formal division of labor between himself and his deputy.

"There is no such division of jobs in the economic, security or political fields... It's crystal clear, I think, that the so-called division of labor is aimed at keeping the vice president from becoming a spare tire," he said.

"This is to prevent the country from having twin towers or naming two skippers for one boat. I hope this will serve as lessons learned about good practice in democratic politics and governance."

Yudhoyono made the statement as political parties committed to joining forces with  his Democratic Party began offering up their vice presidential hopefuls.

Golkar, which has declared its allegiance to the Democrats, is slated to select its potential candidate for vice president at a plenary meeting Thursday.

Members of the party, however, remain at odds on the issue.

Former Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung suggested the party propose more than one name for Yudhoyono's perusal.

“Golkar should come up with more than one candidate, so Yudhoyono can choose the one that best suits him,” he said Saturday in Makassar.

An internal Golkar survey listed Akbar, Kalla, House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono, chief welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie and media magnate Surya Paloh as the most prominent candidates.

Meanwhile, National Mandate Party (PAN) advisory board chairman Amien Rais has offered up PAN chairman Soetrisno Bachir and State Secretary Hatta Radjasa as possible running mates for Yudhoyono.

Political analyst Mohammad Qodari said Yudhoyono's criteria signaled the incumbent's reluctance to team up with Kalla for another five years.

“Yudhoyono will still elect his running mate from the parties [in the coalition]. But it seems the criteria of loyalty does not fit Pak Kalla,” he said.

Kalla previously declared his readiness to challenge Yudhoyono for the presidency and claimed to be a "faster and better leader" than the incumbent.

Yudhoyono said it was almost certain he would square off against former president Megawati Soekarnoputri in the presidential election, in a repeat of the 2004 poll.

A number of surveys show Yudhoyono as the clear front-runner.

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