REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, A former military leader, Prabowo Subianto, expressed his readiness here on Saturday to compete with other presidential candidates in next year's elections.

"I am ready to compete with other candidates, even with Jokowi (Joko Widodo, the Jakarta governor), if he is later nominated as a candidate," he said after inaugurating board members of his Gerindra party's chapter of Papua here on Saturday.

He pledged he would also respect the results if the public later votes for Jokowi.

However, he believes in the dedication of Gerindra party cadres and sympathizers to guarantee that the party's candidate, especially himself, wins the presidential election.

Regarding his running mate, Prabowo said that he has not made any choices yet, as the vice president will be determined by the party's vote in legislative elections earlier in April next year.

"We cannot as yet determine who will be the vice presidential candidate, because we still have to wait for the results of the legislative elections," he said.

He said if Gerindra is able to win 20 seats in the parliament, it would then be able to determine the vice presidential candidate.

However, if the votes received are not enough to win 20 percent of the seats, the party will have to form a coalition with other parties, he said.

Twelve national political parties and three of Aceh's local parties will take part in legislative elections scheduled for April 2014 to choose members of district and provincial legislative assemblies and the House of Representatives (DPR).

So far, only three parties, Golkar, Gerindra and Hanura, have named their presidential candidates for the election to be held later in the year after the legislative elections.

Golkar has named Aburizal Bakrie as its presidential candidate, while Hanura will be its chief, as well as retired general Wiranto.

According to the rules, only parties that win 20 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives can nominate its own presidential candidate, while those with fewer seats must form a coalition with other parties.

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