Khofifah Has Strong Nomination To Pair Up With Hatta

Surabaya, East Java, March 21 (Antara) - Nahdlatul Ulama`s Muslim Organization `Muslimat` Chairperson Khofifah Indar Parawansa is a strong vice presidential candidate to pair up with Hatta Rajasa, the National Mandate Party (PAN)`s presidential candidate, a PAN executive stated. "But PAN will first check the results of the April 9 legislative elections before offering the vice presidential candidature," Syarifuddin Budiman of the PAN Branch Executive Board of Surabaya noted here on Friday. Syarifuddin explained that Khofifah is a suitable figure to pair up with PAN`s presidential candidate Hatta Rajasa, who has politician-technocrat backgrounds. "Khofifah, meanwhile has a background as a social-based politician," noted Syarifuddin, a PAN legislative candidate for Jatim I (East Java I) electoral district. Syarifuddin, who accompanied Khofifah to a meeting with Hatta Rajasa in Jakarta on Thursday, explained that Khofifah represented the aspirations of members of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country`s largest Muslim organization, as well as members of the NU Muslim women. "A Hatta-Khofifah (HK) presidential and vice presidential pair-up will represent the old-young, Muhammadiyah-NU, Non Java-Java, modernist-traditionalist, man-woman and technocrat-politician elements," he asserted. The meeting between Khofifah and Hatta on Thursday was genuinely a cordial meeting. "Hatta was invited to attend a national working meeting in March 2014 and a Muslimat NU`s congress in June 2014," he added. Although the meeting was only a cordial meeting, Khofifah has become one of the PAN`s targets as a vice presidential candidate. Earlier, the United Development Party (PPP) General Chairman Suryadharma Ali also had a cordial meeting with Khofifah to deliver a PPP decision to include her on its list of names to be offered a presidential candidate nomination.