Megawati says she's ready for coalition
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri says she is willing to enter into coalition with major political parties in order to retain the presidency.
Meanwhile, PDI-P deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung claimed that presidential aspirant Hamzah Haz of the United Development Party (PPP) has thrown his support behind Megawati.
In a surprise press briefing on Tuesday, Megawati said she was ready to enter into coalition talks and planned to meet the leaders of other political parties.
"We can talk about coalition but, as I always say, we will wait until the vote count in the July 5 election is completed," Megawati said at her official residence on Jl. Teuku Umar, Central Jakarta.
Megawati, the leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), currently has 26.2 percent of the 103.5 million votes counted and is likely to enter the runoff election on Sept. 20, challenging Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is currently leading the provisional tally with 33.5 percent of the vote.
The three other candidates -- Wiranto, Amien Rais and Hamzah Haz -- are likely to be eliminated.
Megawati and Susilo have been scrambling for support from other political parties, particularly Golkar, which came first in the April 5 legislative election.
Pramono said his party had held several meetings with Golkar and had secured the support of PPP leader Hamzah, who met Megawati on Tuesday.
"During the meeting, Pak Hamzah expressed the hope that Ibu Mega would win the runoff, and both leaders agreed to maintain the strong relations they have had to date," Pramono told journalists after the meeting.
He stressed that Hamzah had not asked for Cabinet seats in the Megawati administration, saying that he only wanted to support the President.
"There was no talk about Cabinet seats, but they both agreed that the good relations between the two leaders should be maintained," Pramono said.
Pramono said the PDI-P was looking forward to gaining the PPP's official support during the party's national meeting on Wednesday.
In a bid to boost Megawati's image, the party was seeking professionals to fill Cabinet positions in her next administration, should she win the runoff.
"We are approaching several professionals that we hope will be capable of satisfying the public's expectations. We will announce their names at the right time," Pramono said after a meeting of PDI-P leaders on Tuesday.
He said that Megawati was expected to announce the names of candidates for a number of Cabinet positions, including the attorney general and economics ministers.
"We know that aside from building a coalition so as to be capable of providing strong government, we also need to boost Megawati's image. As the current President, it is easier for her to make political changes." Pramono added.
Sources in the party told The Jakarta Post that the meeting discussed how to improve Megawati's public image, including trying to change public perceptions about the influence of her husband, Taufik Kiemas.
Taufik has reportedly been banned from talking to the press, and journalists tried in vain on Tuesday to get him to comment on the meeting at his residence.
"Ask PDI-P officials, or you could ask Ibu yourselves, but thank you for coming here," he said.