‘Chances slim’ for Mahfud M.D. to win presidency

Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud M.D.’s popularity will likely rise ahead of the 2014 presidential election, but there is little chance he would be backed by a major party for the presidency.

The director for research at research institution Developing Countries Studies Center, Abdul Hakim, said Saturday that Mahfud would only have a chance of becoming vice president because he did not have a political party at his command.

“The big political parties that will take part in the presidential election already have their own candidates,” he said in Jakarta as quoted by Antara.

“Citing the [current] political situation, the odds would be greater [for Mahfud to be elected] if he ran for vice president with a political party that already has a presidential hopeful.”

But Abdul said that the situation could change, and that moreover State-Owned Enterprise Minister Dahlan Iskan had been recently linked to a possible presidential bid in 2014. (mtq)