PPP shows strength prior to general elections<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): More than 15,000 supporters of the Moslem-based
\nUnited Development Party (PPP) held a rally here yesterday in a
\nmassive show of strength in the run-up to next year's general
\nelections.<\/p>\n
\"I'm calling on you all, especially PPP supporters in Jakarta
\nto help achieve again the success that this party achieved in the
\n1977 general elections,\" said chairman of Jakarta branch Rusjdi
\nHamka to loud cheers from the participants.<\/p>\n
PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum and other party executives
\nattended the rally. One notable figure present was poet and
\ncolumnist Emha Ainun Nadjib, who declared support for the party
\nlast year in the hope of boosting its share of votes next year.<\/p>\n
\"PPP represents the aspirations of Islam in Indonesian
\npolitics,\" Najib told the crowd members, who waved banners
\nbearing the party's golden star symbol.<\/p>\n
The party received 18.74 million votes in the 1977 poll, while
\nthe ruling Golkar snatched 39.75 million and the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI) got 5.5 million. That general election was
\nnotable for the party because it managed to beat Golkar in its
\nstronghold of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Votes for the party have declined since. In 1992, it received
\n16.6 million compared to Golkar's 66.6 million and the PDI's 14.6
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
During the rally, which put an end to six months of
\ncelebrating since the party marked its 23rd anniversary last
\nJanuary, the activists made speeches and blasted the ruling
\nGolkar and the PDI, which has been suffering a crisis in
\nleadership over the past month.<\/p>\n
\"Golkar is confused and PDI members are squabbling among
\nthemselves! PPP is the only party for Moslems to vote for, it's
\nthe truth,\" shouted Fahruzuki Ishak, a PPP regional
\nrepresentative in his speech.<\/p>\n
When asked if PPP would benefit from the controversial rift in
\nthe PDI which has left the party with two rival leaders, PPP
\nSecretary-General Tosari Wijaya assented. \"I think so,\" he was
\nquoted by AFP as saying. He declined to elaborate.<\/p>\n
Supporters clad in the party's trademark green packed the
\nsports stadium for a three-hour ceremony, cheering \"Long live
\nPPP\" and \"PPP will win the elections.\"<\/p>\n
\"This rally is to showcase our upcoming election campaign
\nwhich we plan to launch in April or May next year,\" Tosari told
\nAFP.<\/p>\n
PPP, PDI and Golkar will compete for 425 seats in the
\nparliament. The remaining 75 parliamentary seats are reserved for
\nmembers of the Armed Forces.<\/p>\n
In his speech, chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum said that the
\npublic \"has become tired of having to watch the declining
\nmorality in all aspects of the nation's life\".<\/p>\n
The weakening of the people's morality, he said, has
\ninfluenced all aspects of economic, social, and political life.
\n(swe)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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