Jakarta, Indonesianpost.com – The Chairman of the Nasdem Party’s Central Executive Board and member of the Change for Unity Coalition Team (KPP), Willy Aditya, stated that their presidential candidate, Anies Baswedan, has already chosen one vice presidential candidate. The identity of the vice presidential candidate, whose name is still kept confidential, is the result of Team 8’s deliberations.
“The vice presidential candidate has been decided by Team 8. So, it is true that there is already one name,” said Willy to reporters at Nasdem Tower, Central Jakarta, on Friday (2/6/2023).
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Willy explained that Team 8, which consists of representatives from Nasdem, PKS, the Democratic Party, and Anies’ party, determined the vice presidential candidate after going through a process of quantitative and qualitative considerations for several months. Starting with more than five candidate names for vice president, they were narrowed down to three names, until finally, one name was chosen.
He declined to confirm whether the vice presidential candidate chosen by Team 8 comes from within the coalition or not. He also refrained from confirming whether the individual is male or female. He only stated that the vice presidential candidate chosen by Team 8 is someone who aligns with the aspirations of the people.
He said that the vice presidential candidate’s name has already been handed over to Anies. “Well, let’s just peek into Anies’ pocket (to find out who the person is). We agreed that Anies himself will announce it,” said Willy.
According to him, Anies feels that the chosen vice presidential candidate aligns with his preferences. “If he doesn’t feel compatible, he can send them back to the team,” said Willy.
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In reality, continued Willy, Anies has conveyed the name of the vice presidential candidate to the leaders of the coalition parties. The purpose is to consult with them and determine the appropriate time to announce the name of the vice presidential candidate.
Willy mentioned that Anies has already informed the Chairman of the Democratic Party’s High Council, Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), and the Chairman of the Democratic Party, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY), about the chosen candidate in Pacitan, East Java, on Thursday (1/6/2023). Today (2/6/2023), Anies conveyed the name to the Chairman of Nasdem, Surya Paloh, at Nasdem Tower. Next, Anies will inform the PKS leaders about the chosen candidate.
According to Willy, Anies informed the coalition party leaders about the name and not to seek their approval. The coalition parties had already agreed from the beginning to leave it to Anies to determine the vice presidential candidate.
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Willy added that Team 8 has set a deadline for announcing Anies’ vice presidential candidate, which is July 16, 2023. The announcement may come earlier than that date depending on Anies’ consultations with the three coalition party leaders.