President Joko Widodo has now played his part in making this one of the most surprising days in modern Indonesian politics by choosing a running mate for next year’s election that very few predicted he would, even in the minutes leading up to his announcement. At this moment it’s unclear, but another possibility (one that is purely our own speculation at this point) is that this was some sort of ruse designed to fool Jokowi’s most likely challenger in the 2019 election, Gerindra chairman Prabowo Subianto, into making a bad decision regarding his own .running mate and coalition. Prabowo and his coalition were thrown into utter chaos yesterday night after a senior Democratic Party official accused Jakarta Vice Governor Sandiaga Uno had paid two parties close to Gerindra, PAN and PKS, IDR 500 billion (US$35 million) each to be made Prabowo’s running mate. Ma'ruf Amin, 75, chairman of the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI), will run as the vice-presidential candidate in the April 17 polls, where Mr Joko is expected to face former general Prabowo Subianto in an election to lead South-east Asia's biggest economy. “Taking into account the input from various elements of the community, I have decided and received the approval of Koalisi Indonesia Kerja (the new name for Jokowi’s political coalition) that the person who will accompany me as vice president from 2019-2024 is Professor Ma’ruf Amin,” Jokowi said at the meeting. Amin, 75, is “a wise religious figure”, Widodo said when describing his pick, adding that all nine parties in his coalition agreed with him.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo chooses the Islamic cleric Ma'ruf Amin as his running mate in the upcoming presidential election.