Akbar, Mega to vote in Jakarta, Amien in Yogyakarta
Akbar, Mega to vote in Jakarta, Amien in Yogyakarta
JAKARTA (JP): Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung will cast his vote on Monday at polling station (TPS) No. 2 in Senayan, South Jakarta, while Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) will vote at TPS No. 18 near her home in Kebagusan, South Jakarta.
National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Amien Rais will vote in his hometown of Yogyakarta, Antara reported.
President B.J. Habibie will vote near his residence in the Patra Kuningan housing complex in South Jakarta. Minister of Cooperatives Adi Sasono and Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid will also vote in Senayan as it is close to the Widya Chandra housing complex for high-ranking officials where they both reside.
A PDI Perjuangan official, Mangara Siahaan, said Megawati wished to tour the capital on Monday rather than visiting Bandung, West Java, as earlier planned.
Asked whether touring Jakarta would incite her supporters to flock to the streets, Siahaan said: "I am now calling on the party's supporters and sympathizers to flock to polling stations rather than taking to the streets."
Other party figures set to vote at polling stations near their homes in the city are Hamzah Haz of the United Development Party (PPP), Abdurrahman Wahid of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and Yusril Ihza Mahendra of the Crescent Star Party (PBB).
Presidency
In Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Abdurrahman told a gathering of religious leaders on Sunday that if he was elected president, his first 100-days in office would be spent reshaping the administration.
He was quoted by Antara as saying that regions would be given greater autonomy -- including the right to elect their own regents and governors -- to lessen the burden on the central government.
He also said his administration would ensure a fairer fiscal balance between the regions and Jakarta, giving regions 75 percent of income derived from their natural resources.
He said his administration would be made up of able people from various political parties, including PAN, and would be called the National Unity Cabinet.
Also on Sunday, researchers at the University of Indonesia revealed in Jakarta that its recent survey indicated Amien Rais was the most likely candidate to win the presidency.
The head of the survey team, Effendi Gazali, said the survey involved 1,400 respondents and was conducted between June 2 and June 5 in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Semarang, Medan and Ujungpandang.
Amien was given a rating of 7.02 by the respondents, who were asked who they thought would most improve the condition of Indonesia.
Amien was followed by Megawati, who was given a rating of 6.61, Yogyakarta monarch Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Abdurrahman Wahid, B.J. Habibie, Try Sutrisno, Hamzah Haz, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, Didin Hafidhuddin, Adi Sasono and Budiman Sudjatmiko.
Respondents rated PAN the best political party with a mark of 7.01, followed by PDI Perjuangan, PKB, PBB, PPP, the Justice Party (PK), Golkar, the Justice and Unity Party (PKP), the People's Sovereignty Party (PDR) and the Democratic People's Party (PRD). (swe)