Megawati presidency backed

Megawati presidency backed

SEMARANG (JP): Seven branches of the minority Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in Central Java have asked party chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri to run in the next presidential election in 1998.

The branches in a joint statement said the party should nominate Megawati to run for president at the gathering of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in 1998.

Megawati has fulfilled the requirements to run for the post, said the statement signed by representatives from PDI branches in the regencies of Brebes, Batang, Pemalang, Slawi, Tegal and Pekalongan as well as from the city of Pekalongan.

Megawati, the daughter of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, was swept to PDI leadership in the party's congress in 1993, despite earlier attempts by the government to block her candidacy.

The call for her to run for the presidency came as a number of organizations began calling on President Soeharto to stay at the helm when his current sixth term in office ends in two years time.

GM Gakari, a youth organization under the ruling political organization Golkar, set the ball rolling this month when it publicly announced that the country still needs the incumbent 74- year old President to see it through the next century.

A former close aide of the President, Sudomo, has also stated that Soeharto is "unbeatable" and that no other candidate could match the vision and capability of the incumbent.

The PDI branch leaders in their statement said that Megawati is a democratic fighter and has grassroots groups' support.

"There are a host of other reasons why we're nominating Megawati. She is simple, honest, non-materialistic and an uncomplicated figure," according to their statement.

Nominations for the presidency does not officially begin until the MPR opens its gathering in March 1998.

Soeharto has been elected sixth times by the MPR, each time running unopposed, with PDI consistently failing to field an alternative candidate. (har/31)