'I have no intention of running for president', JK

Former vice president Jusuf Kalla (JK) said in a brief conference on Tuesday that he had no intention of running in the 2014 presidential election, but would not refuse if people trusted him to do so.

"Power is not my ambition," he said, "But if people asked me to run this country with them, it's a mandate I could not refuse."

The Golkar politician said that he had no hard feelings about party chairman Aburizal Bakrie's upcoming inauguration as presidential candidate, as he had no intention of competing with him, despite recent surveys that showed JK was more electable compared to Bakrie.

A study by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) indicated that Bakrie was less popular than Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri and the Great Indonesia Movement Party chairman Prabowo Subianto.

Similarly a survey conducted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) placed Bakrie's popularity in fourth position after Megawati, Prabowo and Jusuf Kalla.

"Electability is a reflection of the voters' choice, not mine," JK said.

Golkar would officially announce Bakrie’s nomination to run for the 2014 presidential election next month after being chosen unanimously by 33 party branches, said Golkar deputy secretary-general Lalu Mara Satria Wangsai on Saturday. (aml)