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Agus says time ‘to move on quickly’ after Anies picks Muhaimin for VP
After Agus was passed over as the opposition figurehead's running mate in a move seen as treachery, the party was forging ahead to greener political pastures, the Democrat chairman said.
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Democratic Party chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (center) addresses a press briefing on Aug. 11, 2023 at the party’s headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
Democratic Party chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono said that the party would move on and partner with other parties after he was passed over as opposition figurehead Anies Baswedan’s running mate.
“Let’s begin a new chapter, and we have to move on quickly,” Agus said on Monday following a Democrat meeting.
“The Democratic Party will try to join another electoral alliance that has similar viewpoints, platforms and political ethics,” he said in his first public remarks since Saturday, when Anies officially named National Awakening Party (PKB) chair Muhaimin Iskandar as his running mate.
The unexpected turn of events incensed the Democratic Party, which had expected Agus to secure the spot as Anies’ vice president.
Angered by what it perceived as treachery, the party has been taking down banners across the country that display images of Anies and Agus.
Controlling only 9.3 percent of seats at the national legislature against a presidential nomination threshold of 20 percent, the Democrats must form an electoral alliance to contest the 2024 presidential election.
Agus did not refer to any potential partnerships with existing alliances or political parties, but his remarks could mean the Democratic Party exhausting all possibilities to keep either him or the party in the running next year.
