Dominant Golkar to shortlist nominees for vice president

Dominant Golkar to shortlist nominees for vice president

JAKARTA (JP): Dominant political group Golkar will study in
its leadership meeting next month a list of names that have often
been mentioned as vice presidential material, secretary-general
Ary Marjono said yesterday.

Ary said Golkar executives would start shortlisting the
potential candidates relayed by the public to the dominant party
in the meeting, scheduled from Dec. 1 to Dec. 4. Golkar will only
announce one nominee in March next year, according to Ary.

"We have received a lot of suggested names, but I cannot
remember who they are. We will only open the file in the
meeting," he said during a break in a People's Consultative
Assembly session.

He was commenting on the recent open support from several
organizations and individuals for the nomination of incumbent
Vice President Try Sutrisno, Minister of Information R. Hartono,
State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie and House
Speaker Harmoko for the vice presidential post.

Ary declined to unveil whether those leading figures were
among Golkar's list of vice presidential candidates.

A mass organization linked with Golkar, Soksi, and Moslem
leader Abdurrahman Wahid recently announced their list of
candidates for the vice presidential position that placed Try on
top. A group of people from Lampung suggested Thursday that the
Assembly pick among Try, Hartono and Habibie for the vice
presidential position for the 1998/2003 period.

"People are free to openly name their candidates, but Golkar
will stick to the procedures (to announce the vice presidential
candidate in March)," Ary said.

He said mass organizations affiliated to Golkar did not
necessarily have to ask for Golkar leaders' consent if they
wished to lend support to certain candidates.

Golkar has officially named incumbent President Soeharto as
its candidate for the 1998/2003 presidency, despite Soeharto's
call on the political group to reconsider its decision.

Deputy House Speaker Syarwan Hamid of the Armed Forces faction
said the faction had started selecting its vice presidential
nominees but would not announce any names before consulting the
elected president.

"We will elect a national leader, so I think we have to comply
with the rules of the game. We cannot choose a vice president who
cannot cooperate with the president," he said.

An Assembly decree states that a vice president must be able
to work with the president.

Chief of the United Development Party (PPP) faction in the
Assembly, Jusuf Syakir, said his party leaders would meet on Dec.
15 to discuss their candidates for the presidential and vice
presidential positions.

He refused, however, to mention any names, saying that the
party would announce them at the right time, namely the
Assembly's general session next March.

The Moslem-based party has yet to either announce whether it
will follow Golkar in supporting Soeharto's renomination or
suggest other names for the post.

The 1,000-strong Assembly will elect the two national leaders
in March. (amd)