Opposition figure and presidential nominee Anies Baswedan is struggling to find a running mate who can help him appeal to a wider range of voters, after several moderate Muslim figures hinted they would be unwilling to run alongside the former Jakarta governor.

Anies, often seen as the political antithesis of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, has consistently placed in the top three likely presidential candidates in public opinion polls, alongside Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo.

The NasDem Party, Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) formed an electoral alliance called Coalition of Change for Unity (KPP) earlier this year and named Anies their presidential nominee. But they have yet to settle on his running mate. The parties have now agreed to allow Anies to pick his own vice presidential candidate from a list of vetted figures.

The political community, however, appears not to have forgotten the tactics he employed during the highly divisive 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial race, in which he was accused of fueling a wave of Islamic zealotry to defeat Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the Christian incumbent.

This has made it harder for Anies to attract a running mate who will temper his religious conservative image to appeal to the wider electorate.

Read also: Vice-presidential candidates in focus in alliance talks

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