The Golkar Party has reaffirmed its commitment to support chairman Airlangga Hartarto’s bid for the presidency next year following a suggestion from the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) that its presidential nominee, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, take recent Golkar admittee West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil as his running mate.

Golkar would not stray from its intention to nominate Airlangga and would instead intensify it efforts to help him earn a presidential or vice presidential nomination at the negotiation table with other parties, said a senior member of the second-largest party in the House of Representatives on Thursday.

“We are still focusing on Airlangga as a presidential [candidate]. Regarding our political moves ahead, as I mentioned earlier, we will have to work quickly and consistently as we only have 232 days left until voting day,” secretary-general Lodewijk F. Paulus said.

Golkar’s reiteration of its commitment came after PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto suggested in a pantun, a regional rhyming poetic form, on Wednesday that Ridwan could serve as Ganjar’s running mate.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for what is to be the country’s tallest statue, in honor of the country’s founding father Sukarno, at the Saparua sports arena in Bandung, West Java, Hasto praised Ridwan for initiating the construction of the monument.

Read also: PDI-P weighs some potential running mates for Ganjar

The PDI-P has said it is considering a list of 10 potential running mates for Ganjar that includes not only Ridwan but also Airlangga.

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