Candidates busy day on eve of polling day<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Blitar<\/p>\n
Presidential candidates Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono were all set Sunday after they both spent busy days on
\nthe eve of election runoff.<\/p>\n
Front-runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited his mother's
\nhometown in Blitar, Central Java, on Saturday and returned to
\nJakarta later on Sunday, while President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\ntoured the capital.<\/p>\n
Megawati began the day by attending a mass prayer at her
\nofficial residence in Central Jakarta, accompanied by the leaders
\nof the political parties backing her re-election bid.<\/p>\n
She also visited one of the capital's business centers, Pasar
\nBaru, where she met with thousands of retailers and vendors in
\nthe area.<\/p>\n
\"I urged everybody to maintain peace and order during the
\nelection. Do not hesitate to notify the authorities should you
\nbecome aware of anything suspicious,\" Megawati said.<\/p>\n
She insisted she was not campaigning and that she just wanted
\nto see the situation around the capital on the eve of the
\nelection. The three days prior to Sept. 20 are a cooling-off
\nperiod when the candidates are officially supposed to refrain
\nfrom campaigning.<\/p>\n
Megawati also visited a slum area in Plumpang, North Jakarta,
\nwhere she handed over clean water tanks for the residents in her
\ncapacity as President. Under the electoral law, candidates are
\nbanned from giving gifts to voters, but many candidates ignore
\nthe regulation.<\/p>\n
Megawati and her family are slated to cast their votes at the
\npolling station near her private residence on Jl. Kebagusan in
\nSouth Jakarta. Her running mate, Hasyim Muzadi, will cast his
\nvote in his home town of Malang, East Java.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Susilo visited his mother, Siti Habibah Soekotjo,
\nin Blitar, East Java, on Sunday morning to ask for her blessing.<\/p>\n
He said that he always did so at crucial times in his life.<\/p>\n
Susilo, accompanied by wife Kristiani, were greeted by
\nhundreds of supporters. He left for Jakarta on the same day.<\/p>\n
Initially, Megawati had also planned to visit the tomb of her
\nfather, founding president Sukarno, in the same town of Blitar on
\nSaturday. However, she canceled the plan as she had to attend a
\nfamily gathering at the former residence of her mother, the late
\nFatmawati, on Jl. Sriwijaya in South Jakarta on Saturday night.
\nThe most conspicuous guest at the gathering was former president
\nAbdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid, who is the most influential cleric
\nin the country's largest Muslim organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama
\n(NU).<\/p>\n
Fresh from his visit to Blitar, Susilo held a press conference
\non Sunday at his residence in Cikeas village near Bogor in West
\nJava, when he urged the people to ensure a peaceful and fair
\nelection.<\/p>\n
He called on unnamed parties to stop their smear campaigns,
\nsaying that \"the country has to leave all of the processes
\ninvolved in the election to the right mechanisms.\"<\/p>\n
His comment was a vague reference to a tabloid that reported
\nthat Susilo had married a Filipino woman before being admitted to
\nthe Military Academy in 1970. The little-known Fakta (Fact)
\ntabloid only gave one side of the story.<\/p>\n
Susilo and his family are slated to cast their votes at the
\npolling station near his residence. His running mate, Jusuf
\nKalla, will cast his vote near his private residence on Jl.
\nBrawijaya, South Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/candidates-busy-day-on-eve-of-polling-day-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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