The party had a choice of several possible candidates for next year’s election, determined through an internal survey, lawmaker Charles Honoris said on Tuesday.

The candidates include senior PDI-P members, Charles said, refusing to name names.

However, he said he believed the most rational step was to support Ahok and current Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat, who is a PDI-P member. The pair's electability rating is the highest at 82.8 percent, he said.

"I’m a lawmaker from the Jakarta electorate and many people in my electorate say they want Ahok and Djarot to lead again," Charles said as quoted by kompas.com.

However, Charles' opinion differed from other PDI-D members. PDI-P’s head of the election division on the party's executive board, Bambang Dwi Hartono, said the PDI-P had many members who were capable of leading the capital. Moreover, the party would not support independent candidates, he said as reported by kompas.com.

Separately, PDI-P politician Gembong Warsono also said the PDI-P would only throw its support behind potential candidates who registered with the party. 

As the ruling party at the Jakarta City Council with 28 seats, the PDI-P can nominate its own candidate without having to form a coalition. The final decision lies in the hands of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, who has yet to announce candidates for next year's election.

Ahok has declared that he will run as an independent candidate, pairing with civil servant Heru Budi Hartono to retain the capital's top post. He recently claimed that he had rejected an offer to represent the PDI-P in the election. (rin)

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