Candidates relax after hectic campaigns
Candidates relax after hectic campaigns
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Makassar, South Sulawesi
The day after the election, the five presidential candidates
spent probably their first day of relaxation after months of
relentless campaigning, watching the ongoing tallying by the
General Elections Commission (KPU) and "quick counts" from
research agencies.
While the respective campaign teams of the candidates
discussed provisional results, which put tickets Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono-Jusuf Kalla and Megawati Soekarnoputri-Hasyim Muzadi as
the top two winners, the candidates themselves spent a quiet day
at home -- except for Susilo.
Leading the provisional tallying all day with 15.5 million or
33.5 percent of votes as of 9 p.m., Susilo made a confident 30-
minute impromptu visit to the KPU data center at the Borobudur
Hotel in Central Jakarta.
Susilo said that he would soon develop "a new strategy" to
anticipate his rival's strength; if no candidate wins a simple
majority, the two candidates with the most votes have about two
months to woo voters before the expected runoff on Sept. 20.
His running mate Kalla traveled to his hometown of Makassar,
South Sulawesi, and received a huge welcome from locals.
"If we make it to the second round, we are of course willing
to form a coalition with the other candidates," Kalla said.
Golkar presidential hopeful Wiranto was nowhere to be seen on
Tuesday. A security guard at his housing complex said Wiranto
left home around 8 a.m., but his media campaign manager Despen
Opusunggu said he was relaxing at home.
Campaign team member Bomer Pasaribu said that Wiranto and his
running mate Solahuddin Wahid were expected to visit Golkar
headquarters later in the day to discuss the tallying progress.
The subjects of the discussion would include alleged practices
of money politics by Wiranto's rivals in some regions.
The incumbent President Megawati stayed at her official
residence on Jl. Teuku Umar, and held a brief meeting with
officials of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P),
of which she is the leader.
"Ibu is quite happy and relaxed, she just asked about the
tabulation and surveys predicting the final results" PDI-P deputy
secretary-general Pramono Anung said.
He said that the party is confident of entering the runoff on
Sept. 20, along with clear front-runner Susilo-Kalla.
At a lunch with journalists, Megawati's running mate Hasyim
Muzadi said, "We'll see what happens, at least until the
tabulation reaches around 30 percent of the votes."
The National Mandate Party (PAN) ticket Amien Rais-Siswono
Yudhohusodo were also not seen in public on Tuesday. The
provisional tallies so far only put the pair in fourth place
after Susilo-Kalla, Megawati-Hasyim and Wiranto-Solahuddin.
"We still have a chance to make it through to the second
round, because only a small percentage of the vote has been
counted," PAN deputy chairman AM Fatwa said as quoted by Antara.
The ticket of the United Development Party (PPP) Hamzah Haz
and Agum Gumelar, who so far only have around three percent of
votes in the provisional tally, also stayed out of public sight.
The incumbent Vice President Hamzah spent the day at the house
of his second wife, Titin Kartini, in Bogor, West Java. PPP
deputy chairman Tosari Wijaya said it was too early to comment.
"We respect the prediction, but we should wait until more results
come in," he said.