The party will let Ahok chose his own running mate, Golkar Jakarta executive board head Fayakhun Andriadi said. Ahok has chosen Financial and Asset Management Board (BPKAD) head Heru Budi Hartono as his running mate. 

“We don’t have any deputy governor candidates for Ahok. We only want Ahok to have the easiest candidacy as possible. Ahok can choose a deputy governor himself; he knows best. We only want to see the results of Ahok’s work,” Fayakhun said during a press conference on Friday.

Golkar is the latest political party to officially back the outspoken governor for the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election after the NasDem Party and the Hanura Party pledged their support. If Ahok decides to contest the election with the backing of the parties instead of as an independent, the minimum threshold would be met as the three political parties combined have 24 seats on the City Council. The minimum threshold for a party to nominate a candidate is 22 seats.

To officiate their support, Golkar chairman Setya Novanto handed over a letter stating the party’s support of Ahok on Friday.

"We from Golkar abide by the system, so this decision has passed the party's internal mechanism," Golkar's politician Nurul Arifin said in a statement.

The General Elections Commissions requires any political party that supports an independent candidate to include an official letter of support. (rin)

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