Election not battle of supporters, says Soeharto

Election not battle of supporters, says Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto reminded the nation yesterday
the general election is not a battle between supporters of the
three political groups.

It would be normal for parties participating in the general
election, scheduled for May 29, to try to woo as many voters as
possible, he said.

But he added the event, dubbed as the "fiesta of democracy",
was not meant to be an arena where supporters of the political
parties fought against each other.

"In such a situation, it's possible that certain parties would
want to turn the healthy, democratic competition into a conflict
by launching provocation," Soeharto told a meeting of the
Ministry of Religious Affairs at the State Palace yesterday.

He identified a number of polarizing issues often exploited to
create conflict, such as ethnicity, religion, race and social
groups.

Accompanied by the Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi
Taher, Soeharto said the election should be a gauge of the
community's ability to control and prevent social unrest.

"The election and the preceding election campaign should be an
opportunity for political contestants to compete (to woo voters)
with programs and ideas which benefit development," he said.

"We still have a long way to go and must work harder, but the
existing shortcomings should not be an excuse to upset what we
have achieved through hard work," he was quoted by Antara as
saying.

The three political parties -- the United Development Party
(PPP), the dominant Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) -- will start campaigning Sunday.

The campaign will end five days before the May 29 polls. This
five-day "cooling off" period is allocated for the general
election committee to make final preparations for ballot day.

Some 124 million eligible voters are expected to cast their
vote. They will elect members of the House of Representatives in
the election, held once every five years.

Golkar chairman Harmoko said yesterday the political
organization would not resort to the issue of national leadership
succession to attract voters.

"Our campaigners have been instructed not to mention any names
of candidates for presidency and vice presidency," he was quoted
by Antara as saying in Semarang over the weekend.

He said Golkar campaigners would only propose various programs
in order to ensure sustainable economic development.

"We will disclose our presidential and vice presidential
candidates when the right time comes, (namely) the general
assembly of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)," he said.

The 1,000-strong MPR will convene in March next year to elect
a president, vice president and establish the Broad Guidelines of
State Policies.

Harmoko, who is also the minister of information, said Golkar
campaigners would adhere to a set of directives contained in a
book called Visi Pembangunan Golkar 2018 (The Golkar Vision of
Development for 2018). Printed with a yellow cover, it's commonly
called the yellow book.

Novelist Motinggo Busye launched Golkar dan Harmoko (Golkar
and Harmoko) in Jakarta yesterday. Motinggo wrote the book as a
present for Harmoko's 58th birthday on Feb. 7, 1997. (imn)