President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had offered Gerindra Party leader Prabowo Subianto the chance to be his running mate in the 2019 presidential election, but the latter turned down the offer, a Gerindra official has claimed. Prabowo, who is a former military general under dictator Suharto, has accepted his party’s nomination to challenge incumbent Jokowi in next year’s presidential election, setting up a rerun of the 2014 race. Insiders say Widodo continues to mull over a suitable running mate, with his first criteria being someone who will be fully accepted by the Muslim community, a key consideration given the rise of a conservative Islamic coalition in regional and perhaps national politics, writes John McBeth for Asia Times.