A profile of the three political parties
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)