Golkar foresees landslide win in 1997
SEMARANG (JP): Top leaders of the ruling party Golkar are predicting a landslide victory in next year's general election.
However, an intellectual warned contestants yesterday that electoral victory, no matter by how big a margin, would be morally useless if it is gained through coercive means.
Golkar chief Harmoko and his deputy Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana separately asked cadres to work hard to ensure a big win for the political organization.
"Golkar might not grab a 100 percent victory because it has two 'counterparts' in the race," Harmoko, who is also the minister of information, said in Denpasar, Bali, yesterday.
The "counterparts" that Harmoko mentioned refers to Golkar's competitors, the Moslem-oriented United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).
The three contestants will compete for the 425 of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives. The remaining 75 will be reserved for the Armed Forces.
Golkar, which the military founded in 1964 to counterbalance the Indonesian Communist Party, currently dominates the House with 282 seats. The PDI has 56 and PPP 62.
Harmoko said Golkar, which has strong backing from the military, will set a target when its leaders meet in October.
He said he was optimistic Golkar will perform better than it did in the 1992 election because it now has 36 million registered members.
"If each member has five relatives supportive of Golkar, then the political organization will get 180 million votes. A pretty good showing," he said as quoted by Antara.
Indonesia has a population of 195 million. The government is yet to announce the exact number of eligible voters.
In Semarang, Hardiyanti Rukmana said she was optimistic Golkar would be able to increase its seats in the House because its members are more solid than ever.
"But it is important for Golkar members to note that they will never be able to achieve targets without working hard," he said.
To win public sympathy, Golkar has been focusing on issues that concern the basic needs of ordinary people, said Hardiyanti, President Soeharto's eldest daughter.
Observers generally agreed that Golkar will still emerge as the winner in the 1997 general election, the fifth since President Soeharto rose to power 30 years ago.
With strong backing from the military, business groups and the four million-strong civil service as well as the bureaucracy, Golkar is believed to be able to maintain its domination in the House.
The government's unwritten policy of it being mandatory for civil servants and retired military officers to vote for Golkar has constantly come under attack from PPP and PDI.
Votes for PDI are expected to drop due to the ongoing leadership conflict. PPP's performance is generally expected to be consistent as its power base remains the Moslem institutions.
Meanwhile, Novel Ali, a political expert from Diponegoro University said that the political organizations should play fairly in fighting for votes.
"Victory will not mean anything unless it is gained by honest means. Golkar, PPP and PDI should keep this in mind," he said.
He said all contestants should play fairly so that no one goes to the polls because of intimidation.
According to Ali, the contestants should uphold political morality in competing in next year's election and avoid Machiavellian means. (har/pan)