Akbar authorized to select Wiranto's running mate
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Yogyakarta
Golkar Party's central board was given on Wednesday a mandate to determine the running mate of its presidential candidate, Wiranto.
Party leader Akbar Tandjung said after a plenary meeting that the mandate would include seeking an alternative vice presidential candidate if ongoing negotiations with Nahdlatul Ulama figure and rights campaigner Solahuddin Wahid failed.
"The plenary gave us the mandate because of rapid political developments, while it will take us time to convene for a plenary meeting," Akbar said.
He said an alternative vice presidential candidate would come from inside the party, although some party regional leaders proposed that Golkar offer the position to the United Development Party.
"We will announce our vice presidential candidate on May 10 anyway," Akbar said.
He added that Golkar was waiting for a meeting between National Awakening Party cofounder Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan on Friday over the former's request for a judicial review of a General Elections Commission regulation on medical tests for presidential candidates.
Gus Dur has given a green light to Golkar's nomination of his brother Solahuddin as its vice presidential candidate. But Solahuddin said he would confirm his acceptance only if Gus Dur failed in his bid for a judicial review.
Akbar said the alternative for Solahuddin could be one of the losing contenders in the party convention last month, a Golkar executive or advisor.
But the Golkar leader turned down requests that he partner with Wiranto, who convincingly beat him in the convention's runoff, according to Golkar member Ruhut Sitompul, who was also in attendance at the plenary meeting.
"Some provincial chapters wanted Akbar to become Wiranto's running mate but he declined, saying he was done with his bid for the presidency," Ruhut, who is a lawyer, said.
In Yogyakarta, presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X for talks on how to improve security condition, law enforcement and people's welfare.
"As a presidential candidate I need to communicate and consult figures with broad mind like him (Hamengkubuwono)," Susilo said after the meeting at the governor's office.
All other presidential candidates have met the sultan for consultation.
Susilo dismissed speculation that he offered a position to the sultan, who quit the Golkar convention which eventually won by former military commander Gen. (ret) Wiranto.
"Don't reduce political communications to efforts to seek political interests. The time to discuss the design of administration will only come when election result is announced. Now it's more important to make people understand what we are doing so they do not give the mandate to wrong candidates," Susilo said.
Separately, Indonesian Military (TNI) Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto reconfirmed neutrality of the institution in the face of the direct presidential and vice presidential election, which involves former high-ranking military officers.
Endriartono said TNI would not support nor prevent retired military officers from the race. The military's involvement in the election was restricted to "ensuring the election to run smoothly."