Jakarta's campaign teams all hoping for big win

Bambang Nurbianto Jakarta

Jakarta-based campaign teams for the candidates running for presidency are recruiting new personnel to offset the weaknesses some experienced during the April 5 legislative election.

The pairing of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla is currently a favorite, according to recent surveys, and their campaign member Herry Suprapto said that his pair would get the largest chunk of the votes in Jakarta.

He believes his team can take the Democratic Party's (PD) strategy in luring a large number of Jakartan voters as it was able to do in the April election where it finished in a virtual tie for first with the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which does not have a candidate. "We will still sell Susilo's popularity in our campaign," he added.

Herry, a Democratic Party executive, said that the involvement of other parties, like the Crescent Star Party (PBB) and Jusuf's supporters from both the largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and the Golkar Party (he was one of their presidential candidates until he bowed out on the eve of the final convention) would be a very strong combination.

From the Amien Rais-Siswono Yudohusodo, Ahmad Ridwan said that his team had learned lessons from the National Mandate Party's (PAN) weak showing in Jakarta during the legislative vote. "I believe that the new personnel on the Amien-Siswono team will make us stronger," he said.

Team chairman Achmad Somad Karim said his team now had 132 campaigners, 60 percent of whom were from PAN and Muhammadiyah, the rest from six other minor parties.

Mughni Mahmud of the incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri-Hasyim Muzadi campaign team said they would exploit the NU figures to win more votes. They are running under the banner of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

PDI-P and PAN both had mediocre results in the legislative election in the capital as PDI-P slid from first in 1999 to third place in 2004 and PAN from second to sixth.

Mughni said PDI-P executives would try to maintain voters from the April poll while NU's executives here would try to convince followers to vote for the pair because Muzadi is one of the top NU leaders.

He said NU executives had intensified their contacts with voters through gatherings like tahlilan (traditional group prayer) and an istighosah (large prayer gathering).

Mughni, however, must compete with at least three other tickets -- Susilo-Kalla, Wiranto-Solahuddin Wahid and Hamzah Haz- Agum Gumelar -- who are also vying for NU votes. Claiming more than 40 million members, NU's votes will likely be split among four top NU figures among the five pairs of presidential candidates: Muzadi, the NU chairman; Solahuddin, an NU leader; Hamzah from a prominent NU family and Jusuf Kalla.

Chairman of the Hamzah-Agum campaign team Ahmad Suaidy stated however, that he was optimistic that most NU members in Jakarta would vote for his ticket because they were traditional supporters of the United Development Party (PPP) chaired by Hamzah. Also, he said, some 30 percent of Jakarta voters, like Agum, are Sundanese. "It is part of our campaign strategy to approach them," he said.

Enggard Joshua of the Wiranto-Solahuddin camp said that Solahuddin's supporters would, at least, maintain the 5.3 percent of National Awakening Party's (PKB) votes from the legislative election, which was founded by NU leaders.

He said apart from expecting support from PKB and Golkar, his team would also get support from members of many organizations that are supporters of Wiranto.

Composition of parties' seats at the City Council after the 1999 and 2004 elections

No. ! Party ! 2004 ! 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Prosperous Justice Party 18 4 ** 2. Democratic Party 16 * 3. Indonesian Democratic 11 30

Party of Struggle 4. Golkar Party 7 8 5. United Development Party 6 12 6. National Mandate Party 6 13 7. Prosperous Peace Party 4 * 8. National Awakening Party 4 3 9. Reform Star Party 3 * ------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Jakarta General Election Commission. * New party, did not exist in 1999 ** In 1999, known as the Justice Party (PK)