Indonesia president picks top cleric as running mate in 2019 election

Indonesia president Joko Widodo has announced that he will be choosing Ma'ruf Amin, the head of Indonesia Ulema Council, as his running mate for the upcoming elections in 2019. 

Widodo and Amin will on Friday formally register as candidates in the 2019 presidential election. 

"Tomorrow morning... I and my vice-president candidate will register to the election commission," Widodo was quoted as saying by Reuters. 

Amin, 75, is "a wise religious figure", Widodo said when describing his pick, adding that all nine parties in his coalition agreed with him.

Indonesia, the world's third-largest democracy and biggest Muslim-majority country, goes to the polls in April.