ELECTION '99

ELECTION '99

Photo A/B: Snake

JP/bay, JP/bay

SNAKE LADY: Sitting on top of a car, a supporter of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) holds a snake to draw people's attention (left). Two supporters of the National Mandate Party (PAN) show off their blue-and-white painted faces during the party's campaign in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta (above). Raising a thumb of one hand and the five fingers of the other, fans represent the party's number 15.

Photo C/D: Shrine

JP/leo

WALKING THE 'KA'ABA': Street rallies might scare people, but sometimes they can make us smile. A man "dressed" in a mock-up of the ka'aba (Muslim holy shrine), the symbol of the United Development Party (PPP), is seen walking along Jl. Oto Iskandardinata in East Jakarta. (above). An elderly woman peers through the window of a bus taking her and other Golkar Party supporters through the Senen area in Central Jakarta (right).

Photo E/F/G: Clowns

JP/bay, JP/afs, JP/bay

POLITICAL CLOWNS: Here come the real clowns, taking part in a rally of the United Party along Jakarta's main streets (above). The elections have given birth to many political clowns, who are often not funny, but annoying. Election campaigns are not just for adults. Children, too, may join them, as is the case here at a Tebet soccer field in South Jakarta, during a campaign held by the National Awakening Party (PKB) (below, left). An activist of the Democratic People's Party (PRD) yells to a crowd of supporters in front of Central Jakarta's Cipinang prison, where the party's leader Budiman Sujatmiko is serving a jail term for subversion (below, right).

Photo H: News

JP/msa

HOT NEWS: The campaigning for what is expected to be the country's first free and fair elections in more than three decades has drawn scores of journalists from all over the world.