Golkar prepared for poll debates

Golkar prepared for poll debates

JAKARTA (JP): A senior Golkar member said yesterday that the
ruling political group is ready to campaign for the 1997 general
election in indoor debates rather than outdoor rallies.

State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said
Golkar had been pushing, since 1987, for electoral regulations
which lay stress on political debates instead of outdoor
political rallies.

"Dialog campaigns are safer," Sarwono said, as quoted by
Antara, during a meeting with Golkar leaders in Balikpapan, East
Kalimantan.

He said Golkar had tested the method in the last election in
1992 and it had proven "quite successful" in terms of winning
votes.

The government is currently still formulating guidelines for
election campaigns for the 1997 polls. The guidelines are
expected to ban, or at least restrict, massive political rallies
on the basis that they have the potential to lead to security
troubles.

There has also been talk of election contestants publicizing
their messages through paid advertisements on televisions or in
newspapers.

Golkar is contesting the election against the United
Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party. Because
most of the mass media are owned by Golkar, the two minority
parties have in previous election campaigns depended on open-air
rallies to get their message to voters.

Sarwono said he was confident that Golkar would have a
sufficient number of speakers to argue its case in election
debates against representatives of the two other parties.

He said stress should be placed on improving the communication
abilities of Golkar's campaigners, as well as their knowledge and
perceptions. (emb)