The Democratic Party plans to nominate its own cadres to run in the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election, with the belief that the once-ruling party remains electable and capable of governing.

The Democrats see Former Youth and Sports Minister Roy Suryo and chief of the party's Jakarta executive board Nachrowi Ramli as potential candidates for the upcoming elections in the capital, Democratic party deputy chairman Agus Hermanto said on Monday.

The party announced in October that it would support Nachrowi for the gubernatorial race.

Nachrowi was a running mate of former Governor Fauzi Bowo in the 2012 Jakarta Election. Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Basuki "Ahok" Tjajaha Purnama defeated the pair in the competition with 53.82 percent against 46.18 percent.

Meanwhile, Roy served a short term as a minister in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's second-term Cabinet.

The party was still considering which candidate they would endorse, as there had not been any decision from the party's chairman Yudhoyono, Agus said.

"We want our governor candidate to win, even more if they [the candidate pair] are party members," he told journalists at the House of Representatives.

Separately, Roy said that he would abide by the party's internal processes if he was to be endorsed as a candidate.

"It is not my personal ambition to run. So don't quote me as saying "I want to run". I'll let the party mechanism run its course first," he said as quoted by kompas.com on Monday.

Political parties have begun to line up behind candidates that they will be supporting in the race for the capital's top posts. Incumbent Governor Ahok remains the most popular candidate, according to several surveys, despite remaining an independent candidate without the backing of any political party . (rin)

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