Wiranto officially runs for president

JAKARTA. The People's Conscience (Hanura) Party is expected to announce the presidential candidacy of its chairman, Gen. (ret.) Wiranto, on Tuesday.

"The announcement will be made tomorrow at 12 p.m.," chairman of Hanura's Jakarta branch, Mohammad Sangaji, said on Monday.

Wiranto is also expected to name the chairman of the party's advisory council, Hary Tanoesoedibjo, as his running mate.

Sangaji said the decision had been made through deliberations involving all the party's regional branch chairmen.

He denied that the decision had been imposed by Wiranto on party members.

In the 2009 election, Wiranto was vice presidential candidate alongside Jusuf Kalla. The pair ended up behind two other candidate pairs: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-Boediono and Megawati Soekarnoputri-Prabowo Subianto.

Prior to joining Kalla's ticket, Wiranto said he would run for president himself. Hanura, which was founded by the former military commander, secured 3.7 percent of the vote with 3.9 million votes. (The Jakarta Post)