Islamic parties join forces to back Joko Widodo for Indonesian presidency

Indonesian presidential front runner Joko Widodo has joined hands with the country's most popular Islamic party, cementing the surprise resurgence of Muslim parties in this year's election and possibly renewing their voice in the new government.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) on Saturday became the latest party to back Widodo's Indonesian Democratic-Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and his bid for president on July 9.

"PDI-P and PKB have similar historical traces, ideology and chemistry since the beginning," said Hasto Kristiyanto, PDI-P's deputy secretary general, following the announcement of their coalition, which also includes the National Democrat (NasDem) party.

PKB won the most votes of the five Islamic-based parties in April's parliamentary elections, which set the stage for the presidential poll.

Only candidates backed by parties or coalitions with at least 25 per cent of the vote or 20 per cent of parliamentary seats can contest the presidential poll. Widodo's PDI-P won the most votes but was short of the required 25 per cent. It reached the mark with support from NasDem alone. PKB's support will add weight to his candidacy.

Investors also hope the addition of more parties to Widodo's coalition will give him the political clout in parliament to pass major reforms if elected.