Megawati, Zainuddin boost chances of candidates for local government
Megawati, Zainuddin boost chances of candidates for local government
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The election campaign across the archipelago ran well and was
full of merriment on Saturday as big shots flocked to the regions
in support of candidates running for local government.
Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri flew to Manado, the
capital of North Sulawesi on Saturday to attend the campaign of
Sinyo Sarundajang and Freddy H. Sualang. The candidates for
governor and deputy governor are being nominated by the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the party that
Megawati leads.
In the lively event attended by thousands of people, Megawati
warned the crowd that they had to be vigilant during the direct
gubernatorial election on June 20, the first in North Sulawesi's
history. "People have to watch the voting closely in order to
prevent election fraud," Megawati was quoted as saying by Antara
news agency.
Megawati, the daughter of nationalist and Indonesian founding
father Sukarno, urged the people to vote for Sarundajang and
Sualang.
In Medan, North Sumatra, popular cleric-cum-politician
Zainudin M.Z campaigned for Abdillah and Ramli as candidates for
mayor and deputy mayor. Before the crowd of thousands attending
the rally in a large field in Medan city, Zainuddin, the chairman
of the Reform Star Party (PBR), urged the crowd to vote for
Abdillah, the incumbent mayor, whom he described as being close
to the people.
Popular performing artists from Jakarta were a great crowd
drawer. Ignoring the scorching sun, the crowd sang and danced
along with the artists.
Medan city's streets were congested as thousands of his
supporters paraded across the city with motorcycles and cars,
confusing police personnel.
The campaign on Saturday was the second day of the campaign
ahead of the Medan mayoral election on June 27. Abdillah and
Ramli are set to hold 19 outdoor rallies, while contenders
Maulana Pohan and Sigit Pramono will hold nine outdoor rallies.
Election rallies were also held in other areas across the nation
on the same day, with each candidate attracting voters in their
own way.
In Yogyakarta, running mates Ibnu Subiyanto and Sri Purnomo
held a public meeting in three separate areas in Sleman regency,
while their opponents Sutrisno and Achmad Yulianto chose to
provide free medical services in seven hamlets in the regency.
Ibnu Subiyanto promised the crowd that if he was elected, he
would develop entrepreneurship programs and provide small
industries with more soft loans.
In Depok municipality, West Java, mayoral candidates promised
in separate public rallies that if they were elected, they would
provide people with cheap medical services, free education and
would fight unemployment.
In Bandarlampung, Lampung province, the first day of the
mayoral election campaign was marred by traffic violations. Many
supporters rode motorcycles into an open field where the campaign
rallies were held without helmets. Some others even took the
opportunity to parade across the town, while police officers
seemed powerless to stop them.
Officials from Bandarlampung Election Supervisory Committee
(Panwaslu) complained that violations were rampant during the
campaign, as many children were present in the campaign.
As people in many areas joined election rallies, people in
Indragiri Hulu, Riau province, went to the polls on Saturday. The
voting ran peacefully with regental candidates Emrizal Pakis and
Thamsir Rachman leading the provisional tally, detik.com news
portal reported.