Tension Heats up as Surya Paloh Appoints Muhaimin as Anies’ Partner

Secretary General of Democratic Party Teuku Riefky Harsya went public regarding the latest decision arranged by NasDem Party Chief Surya Paloh that paired Potential Presidential Candidate Anies Baswedan with PKB Chief Muhaimin Iskandar for the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election.

“We have been informed about this by Sudirman Said, who represents Anies. It's clear that the decision has been taken in the absence of two supporting parties, us and the Prosperous Justice Party [PKS],” Riefky said as quoted by katadata.co.id on Thursday.

Riefky said the party has yet to announce any statement on this decision, saying that the final answer will be given after the party’s high council meeting, which will be organized in one to two days’ time.

Furthermore, Riefky considered the sudden decision as treason to the earlier consensus made by three participating parties, the NasDem Party, Democratic Party, and Justice Prosperous Party (PKS) that had granted Anies the right to appoint a candidate independently after consulting with the three parties.

Besides, Riefky added, Anies actually had agreed to choose Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, Democratic Party chief, as his potential vice-presidential candidate. But then it turned out Surya Paloh did not favor Agus so he then came out with the scenario of pairing Anies Baswedan with Muhaimin Iskandar, widely known as Cak Imin.