Indonesia presidential candidate picks head of Islamic party as running mate

Former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan on Saturday named the chairman of Indonesia’s largest Islamic party as his running mate for the 2024 presidential election, a move aimed at boosting his popularity in this Muslim majority country.
Opinion polls have forecast the election to be a close race between Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, who have both received the support of the current president, Joko Widodo.
Anies, however, has been falling behind. His vice presidential pick, Muhaimin Iskandar, leads the National Awakening Party (PKB), which has strong ties with Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), that boasts 40 million members.
Prabowo and Ganjar have yet to name their vice president choices. Candidates are expected to formally register between October and November.