Megawati says PDI-P will win election

Megawati says PDI-P will win election

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Regardless of the internal conflicts plaguing her Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle, President Megawati Soekarnoputri
expressed her optimism that the party would come first in the
2004 general election.

"Whatever system will be applied in the upcoming election, I
am sure we will win," Megawati told thousands of cheering party
supporters who packed the Klabat Stadium in Manado.

She was visiting the North Sulawesi capital to attend a
ceremony marking the party's 30th anniversary.

Megawati said the PDI Perjuangan would emulate its performance
in the 1999 election, when it won 34 percent of the vote to
finish first, due to the hard work and votes of its loyal
supporters.

However, Megawati fell short of voicing her confidence of
retaining the presidency.

Despite winning the most votes in 1999, Megawati failed to
take the chief executive's post, which went to her then close
friend Abdurrahman Wahid, and had to be content with the vice
presidency. Megawati took over from Abdurrahman in July 2001
after the People's Consultative Assembly dismissed him,
ostensibly for incompetence.

The nation will experience its first direct presidential
election ever in 2004, just after the general election. Megawati
has stated her intention of running in the race for the
presidency.

The PDI Perjuangan was initially reluctant to accept the new
presidential election system, claiming that the people were
unready.

Megawati put mounting criticism of her style of governance
behind her on Saturday, calling on her opponents to wait until
2004 to fight in the election.

"We are ready to contest the 2004 general election," Megawati
shouted.

Her inspiring speech was ironic given that the party has been
facing internal conflicts, which have led to a number of
Megawati's key supporters quitting in disappointment at the
party's direction.

More party members have been criticizing Megawati, and some of
them have called for a special congress to replace her so as to
allow her to focus on the affairs of state.

Early last week, senior party member Kwik Kian Gie said the
PDI Perjuangan had become the most corrupt party since Megawati
took office as president.

Megawati's husband, Taufik Kiemas, also warned on Friday that
the party needed to improve its performance and focus on paying
more attention to its constituents in order to claim a back-to-
back win in next year's election.

During her speech on Saturday, Megawati also criticized the 30
percent quota for women legislative candidates as is stipulated
in the Elections Law.

"As party chairwoman, I reject this because it appears to
confirm that women can only be successful in politics out of
charity," said Megawati, the country's first woman president.

"I was chosen as the president not because of pity but because
the people needed me."

In her capacity as president, Megawati visited Bitung
immediately after her arrival in North Sulawesi to take a closer
look at a fishing port, fishing academy and an earth satellite
station there.

The President also visited Manado to attend the opening
ceremony of the Indonesian Christian Women's Organization
(PWKI)'s national congress.

Among her entourage were husband Taufik Kiemas, maritime
affairs and fishing minister Rokhmin Dahuri, forestry minister
Mohamamd Prakosa, trade and industry minister Rini Suwandi and a
number of party executives.