Megawati, Susilo resume political jockeying a day after court verdict
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.