Gus Dur asks NU members to back Wiranto
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Prominent cleric Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid has told members of the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), to vote for the Wiranto-Solahuddin Wahid ticket in the July 5 presidential election.
Gus Dur told hundreds of NU leaders in Jombang, East Java, that Wiranto, a four-star retired Army general, was committed to the democratization process, and thus deserved support.
"To resolve confusion among NU followers, I would suggest that they vote for Wiranto as he is honest," Gus Dur was quoted by Antara as saying. The Golkar Party which nominated the ticket has long waited for Gus Dur's public endorsement.
While urging NU members and members of the National Awakening Party (PKB) to support the pairing, Gus Dur said that he would abstain in the country's first direct presidential election.
Wiranto decided to pick Solahuddin as his running mate in the hope that PKB supporters and NU members would throw their support behind his presidential bid.
The PKB, established by NU leaders ahead of the 1999 election, got 12 million votes in the April 5 election, while the NU claims to have around 40 million members nationwide.
Gus Dur, who is an elder brother of Solahuddin, still commands great influence within the PKB and NU, which he once chaired.
Gus Dur also said that any PKB members supporting candidates other than Wiranto and Solahuddin would be expelled from the party.
PKB secretary-general Muhaimin Iskandar said that a number of party leaders at provincial and regental/municipal levels would be expelled for supporting the Megawati Soekarnoputri-Hasyim Muzadi ticket. Hasyim is currently the non active NU chairman.
The party executives included the leaders of the North Sumatra provincial chapter, North Jakarta municipal chapter, the PKB women's organization (PPKB).
Meanwhile, the five presidential candidates continued campaigning on Wednesday, with their activities ranging from visiting traditional markets to attending a mass prayer meeting.
Megawati attended a mass prayer meeting in Makassar, South Sulawesi, in which she appealed to women to vote for her.
Hamzah Haz visited the Darel Hikmah Islamic boarding school in Pekanbaru, Riau, and the Pasar Bawah traditional market.
"I came here as the Vice President. Not once have I asked the people here to vote for me," Hamzah said.
Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party (PAN), was campaigning in Semarang, Central Java, where he held a dialog with teachers and artists.
He also met with WBA champion boxer Chrisjon at his training camp, where he delivered a playful left hook on the boxer's left cheek. Amien also attended an outdoor rally at the Simpang Lima soccer field in the city, with supporters of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) and PKB flying the flags of their respective parties.
The PBB is officially supporting the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono- Jusuf Kalla ticket, while the PKB is backing Wiranto.
Susilo held rallies in Madiun and Malang in East Java, where he told thousands of his supporters to refrain from violence despite "smear campaigns" against him.
Susilo and his campaign team have denied various allegations including that most of his Democrat Party legislators are Christian (they are mostly Muslim), and that he was involved in the violent 1996 takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters.