Dasco says there has never been any discussion of a Gerindra-NasDem merger

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives and daily chairman of the Gerindra Party’s central executive board, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, stated that there has never been any discussion regarding a merger or unification of the Gerindra Party with the NasDem Party, as per the circulating rumours.

He expressed confusion about the developing issue and questioned its source of information.

“We were also, so to speak, confused when we heard it; where did it actually come from?” Dasco said at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Dasco mentioned that NasDem has already denied the rumours of a merger between the two parties. Moreover, according to him, NasDem had clarified the matter first as the named party, so he did not provide further comments.

“NasDem has already explained it first because the subject is NasDem, so we think that’s sufficient,” he stated.

At the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday (13/4), it was stated that the NasDem Party’s current focus is on consolidation and building the party structure, both at the national and regional levels.

NasDem Party’s central executive board chairman Willy Aditya also said that the NasDem Party’s general chairman, Surya Paloh, is actually offering the concept of a political bloc, instead of a merger or fusion with other political parties.