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tate-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, the winner of the ruling Democratic Party'€™s presidential convention, announced on Saturday he is backing the presidential ticket of Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and Jusuf Kalla of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)-led coalition.

Dahlan'€™s success at the recent convention did not translate into nomination as the Democrats'€™ presidential candidate, as members found his prospects dim compared to Jokowi or the Gerindra Party-led coalition'€™s candidate Prabowo Subianto, who is running with Hatta Rajasa. The result has seen the Democrats remain neutral.

According to Dahlan, winning the convention did not mean he lost his right to support other candidates.

'€œThere is no way I will [choose to] abstain. I'€™ve made my choice,'€ Dahlan said. He later revealed he had informed Democratic Party chairman President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of his decision but no response had been received.

Dahlan announced his endorsement during an event in Sentul, West Java, where his supporters also backed Jokowi-Kalla.

The minister said he had similarities with both the candidates. He said Jokowi was a visionary, while Kalla was swift in decision making. '€œA part of me is similar to Pak Jokowi and another part is similar to Pak JK [Kalla].'€

Democratic Party deputy chairman Max Sopacua said the party had no problem with Dahlan'€™s decision.

'€œThere'€™s no issue. He was a convention participant, but he is not a [party] member. So he has the right to do so,'€ Max told The Jakarta Post.

Dahlan is the second convention participant to back the Jokowi-Kalla campaign, after Paramadina University rector Anies Baswedan, who said he supported Jokowi because the nation needed a leader with integrity.

The ruling party has insisted on neutrality ahead of the poll, pending a decision on whether the Jokowi-Kalla or Prabowo-Hatta ticket adopted a platform similar to the Democrats'€™.

However, the conventional wisdom is that the Democratic Party will back Prabowo, as most of its members are rooting for him, including House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie.

Ali Masykur Musa, another convention participant, is reportedly also leaning toward supporting Prabowo.

The Democratic Party is slated to hold an event on Sunday in Jakarta where Prabowo will present his ideas after he requested the party at least hear what he had to say.

So far, only Prabowo has made such a request, according to party officials.

'€œWe will hear his vision and mission before we decide,'€ Max said. '€œIf the ideas match ours, we will not delay any decision [on whether the party backs Prabowo-Hatta].'€

The Democratic Party, which won the 2009 legislative election after securing over 20 percent of the vote, only managed a fourth-place finish in this year'€™s legislative election, racking up 61 seats and 10.1 percent of the vote, making it unable to nominate a presidential candidate without forming a coalition.

The party has hinted it might support Prabowo as it stated the Democrats wanted to ensure Yudhoyono'€™s good programs would be continued by the next president. Prabowo said he had taken note of Yudhoyono'€™s achievements and added that the next government needed to continue them.

Some Gerindra executives, including chairman Suhardi, have also spoken of their belief that the Democrats will join them.

Separately, the General Elections Commission (KPU) officially named Jokowi-Kalla and Prabowo-Hatta as the two tickets that will contest the July presidential election.

The candidates are expected to arrive at the KPU office on Sunday to draw their electoral numbers, which determines the order they will be listed on the ballot.