Minority parties told to start campaigning

Minority parties told to start campaigning

JAKARTA (JP): Political observer Afan Gaffar suggested that the minority political parties launch their election campaigning now, rather than wait until the official electioneering time in 1997.

He told activists of the Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP) and the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) to make use of the available time by trying more effective "door-to- door" campaigning.

"Don't wait until the official campaigning time," he told the forum for dialogs of activists of the political contestants in Yogyakarta yesterday.

Also speaking at the gathering yesterday was political scientist Riswandha Imawan. Both Afan and Riswandha are lecturers at the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.

Afan encouraged some 200 activists of PDI yesterday to also make use of the newly issued ruling on political gathering permits.

"The ruling has given a greater leeway for the political parties to hold political meetings, so you should use it to communicate better with your supporters," Afan was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying.

"Launch a door-to-door campaign, hold meetings, because when elections time arrive, you won't have any time to hold dialogs with your supporters."

As the country is gearing up for the 1997 general elections, the ruling Golkar and the two minority political parties have been engaged in discussions about methods for campaign rallies.

Golkar, whose chairman Harmoko has been traveling extensively for "cadre meetings" which some people said smacked of premature electioneering, has proposed that outdoor election campaign rallies be replaced with indoor discussions.

Harmoko, who has been accused of "stealing" the time available for campaign rallies, also said Golkar wanted there to be "campaigns in the form of discussions" within each political party, but not between the political contestants.

Electioneering

Golkar has often been criticized as launching activities, such as holding massive rallies of members across the country, which smacked of electioneering, while PPP and PDI often encounter difficulties in their attempts to hold similar gatherings.

Under the existing rules, election campaigning may be carried out only a few weeks before election day. Rallies and outdoor campaigns are permitted only for one month before the polls are conducted.

PDI has expressed reluctance to accept the proposal. PPP stated its readiness for both indoor and outdoor campaigns, but asked that political rallies not be totally banned. (swe)