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)