Megawati, Susilo resume political jockeying a day after court verdict

Tiarma Siboro/Fabiola Desi Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Presidential candidates Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono resumed courting political leaders on Tuesday, one day after the Constitutional Court rejected a petition filed by eliminated candidate Wiranto.

Megawati held a meeting with eliminated presidential candidate Amien Rais at his official residence in South Jakarta, while Susilo visited former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid at his residence in Ciganjur, South Jakarta.

Both Amien and Gus Dur said afterwards they had made no commitments to either of the two candidates.

Political courtship took a brief break last week when the Constitutional Court heard a complaint filed by Wiranto, who claimed that he and running mate Solahuddin Wahid lost 5.4 million votes because of irregularities during the July 5 election.

The court threw out the petition on Monday, saying the Wiranto camp had failed to produce solid evidence to prove their claims, paving the way for a showdown between Megwati and Susilo in the Sept. 20 runoff.

After the one-hour meeting, Amien said his party would decide its stance in the election after the Aug. 17 Independence Day celebration.

"There have been no political commitments made whatsoever. We will decide whether to stay away from the election, become part of the opposition or join the executive branch after Aug. 17," he said.

Megawati, who was accompanied by husband Taufik Kiemas, senior member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Sabam Sirait and deputy secretary general Pramono Anung, made no comment.

Earlier on Tuesday, Megawati held a meeting with Golkar Party deputy chairman Marwah Daud Ibrahim at the State Palace.

Marwah said she was asked to share her vision about women's empowerment issues.

Susilo, meanwhile, said after his meeting with Gus Dur that he had asked for advice from the chief patron of the National Awakening Party (PKB) on several national issues.

"During the meeting, I asked for some advice from Gus Dur, as my senior, about national issues and how we can improve our role in the international community," Susilo said.

The PKB, which was established by the country's largest Muslim organization Nadhlatul Ulama (NU), officially supported Golkar's presidential candidate Wiranto in the July 5 election.

Meanwhile, Gus Dur said he advised Susilo not to put religious interests above politics so as to create harmony among the Indonesian people.

Both Megawati and Susilo have been approaching Muslim leaders in order to win their support in the runoff. Around 85 percent of Indonesia's 215 million population are Muslims.

Megawati, who is seeking another five-year term, had earlier met with Golkar Party leader Akbar Tandjung, Muslim-based United Development Party chairman Hamzah Haz and Gus Dur.

Several weeks ago, Amien held a meeting with Susilo in Yogyakarta, where the two discussed their possible cooperation in the next government should Susilo be elected president.