A profile of the three political parties

JAKARTA (JP): With the election campaign in full swing and the May 29 general election approaching, the following is a profile of the three political groups.

* The United Development Party (PPP) is a Moslem-oriented group, set up in 1973 after the merger of four Islamic parties. It first bore the symbol of the Kaaba, and reportedly lost a great deal of its attraction after it changed it with a five- point star in 1987.

Most of the party's constituents are ulemas and students of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) in the rural areas in Java.

One of the four factions of PPP is Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which, with some 30 million supporters, is Indonesia's largest Moslem organization. Struggles for positions among leaders of the four factions led to the exodus of NU members from PPP in 1987, thus undermining the party's general position.

There is no information of a membership figure.

The PPP is chaired by veteran politician Ismail Hasan Metareum, who said the party's campaign theme would be "justice". The PPP won 17 percent of the vote and 62 seats in parliament in 1992 compared with 99 seats in 1977.

* Golkar was founded in 1964 by a group of soldiers and civilians to offset the influence of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), which was subsequently banned after being blamed for an abortive coup bid in 1965. The political upheavals led to then general Soeharto replacing founding president Sukarno as head of state.

Golkar, which stands for "functional groups", has been the dominant group during President Soeharto's 30-year administration. It claims a membership of 36 million out of the country's 200 million population.

Its chairman is Minister of Information Harmoko, the first civilian to hold the position.

Golkar officials say they have set a target of 70.02 percent of the 124.7 million voters in the coming election compared with 68 percent of the poll in 1992 and 73 percent in 1987. It is the richest party backed by the military, government bureaucracy and leading businessmen.

In this campaign, Golkar is pushing government programs ranging from industrial and agricultural development to social welfare.

* The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) is an alliance of several Christian and nationalist parties set up in 1973.

The party has been marred by factional strife since its leader, elected for a five-year term in 1993, Megawati Soekarnoputri, was ousted by government-backed rebels. Deputy House Speaker Soerjadi replaced Megawati in June last year.

The electoral authorities have refused to accept Megawati's candidates' list for the election and she has told her supporters not to take part in the campaign.

The PDI, which won 15 percent of the vote in 1992, claims a membership of 16 million. Soerjadi said its aim was to promote democracy, social justice and the spirit of nationalism. (swe)