Dems open possibility to endorse Jokowi in 2019 Agus Yudhoyono

Democratic Party executive Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono has said there is a possibility for the party to endorse President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as a presidential candidate in the 2019 election.

He made the statement following his meeting with the President in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Jokowi welcomed the visit of the eldest son of Democratic Party patron and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Merdeka Palace. During the meeting, Agus invited Jokowi to attend the party’s national meeting this weekend.

Agus said there was no specific talk with Jokowi concerning the 2019 elections, let alone a discussion about Jokowi’s running mate, with recent speculation suggesting that Agus was one of the potential candidates.

When he was asked about the possibility for the Democratic Party to join several other political parties to back Jokowi's reelection next year, Agus said, "Everything is possible in politics."

“Although today the Democratic Party has not yet determined its stance on who it will endorse [in the 2019 presidential election], the party will soon set its stance together with other political parties.”

Agus said he did not know yet whether the Democratic Party would declare its presidential or vice-presidential candidate during the party's national meeting scheduled to be held on March 10 to 11 in Sentul, West Java.

He said the national meeting would focus on consolidating the party's members for next year's elections. The party hoped it could gain more votes in the 2019 legislative election, exceeding the 10.91 percent of votes it obtained in 2014.

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