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Jokowi declares Rais Aam KH Ma’ruf Amin as his running mate

Kamis, 9 Agustus 2018 | 15:18 WIB

Jokowi declares Rais Aam KH Ma’ruf Amin as his running mate

Rais Aam

Jakarta, NU Online
In an upset decision, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has chosen the supreme leader (Rais Am) of the Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) KH Ma’ruf Amin, popularly known as Kiai Ma'ruf, as his running mate for the 2019 presidential election.

“The meeting between Jokowi and other party leaders and secretaries-general decided to name KH Ma’ruf Amin as Jokowi’s running mate,” PKB secretary-general Abdul Kadir Karding said on his Twitter account on Thursday.   

Abdul was referring to a meeting between Jokowi and leaders of the parties that back his reelection bid in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

The appointment of Kiai Ma’ruf has surprised many as it was widely reported that Jokowi would pick former Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD as his vice presidential candidate.

Kiai Ma’ruf, who will turn 76 next year, is the supreme leader of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the nation’s largest Islamic organization.

In terms of influence among Muslim voters, Kiai Ma’ruf is seen as being more representative of the NU than Mahfud, who is often described as only “culturally” involved in the NU, but has never held any position in the organization. (Masdar)


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