Party leaders drum up support

Party leaders drum up support

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As the campaign period draws near, party leaders and presidential
candidates are busy visiting the provinces apparently to drum-up
support for the approaching general elections.

The visits come despite new guidelines clarifying what are
prohibited forms of early campaigning.

On Saturday, Golkar Party Chairman Akbar Tandjung made his
first political safari since the Supreme Court aquitted him from
corruption charges. Akbar visited the party supporters in the
East Nusa Tenggara capital of Kupang.

The senior politician, who is also the House of
Representatives speaker, asked Golkar contituents during the
gathering to support his presidential bid.

Local Golkar leaders and Kupang mayor S.K. Lerik and his
deputy Daniel Adoe were among hundreds of people who greeted
Akbar at El tari airport.

Also on Saturday, chairwoman of the ruling Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Indonesian President
Megawati Soekarnoputri met with the chairman of the country's
largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Hasyim Muzadi at
the Al-Hikam Islamic boarding school in Malang, East Java.

At least 20 other NU ulemas, including Yusuf Hasyim, the uncle
of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, also attended the meeting
with Megawati, who is seeking her first full five-year mandate in
the upcoming elections.

"You can call this trip a political safari, but the main point
was a friendly visit to the Muslim school," PDI-P deputy
secretary general Pramono Anung told The Jakarta Post over the
weekend.

"It was only an unofficial meeting. (There was) no talk on the
plan to name Hasyim as PDI-P's vice presidential candidate," NU
East Java leader Ali Maschan Musa was quoted by Antara as saying.

After the meeting with NU ulemas, Megawati held a closed-door
meeting with Hasyim from 11:20 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Megawati, the incumbent, had hinted she would choose either a
Muslim leader or a former military leader as her running-mate in
the upcoming elections.

Another party leader and presidential aspirant, Amien Rais of
the National Mandate Party (PAN), spent the weekend in Kuningan,
West Java, attending a discussion on the elections.

Amien begun traveling the country late last year, visiting
various Muslim boarding schools around the Central and East Java
provinces.

Last week, he went to Yogyakarta, where he was endorsed by
leaders of Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Muslim
organization, with over 30 million members.

Independent presidential aspirant Nurcholish Madjid has also
just returned from Tasikmalaya, West Java on the campaign trail.

"This is, of course, part of the campaign to garner support,
and we carefully designed the schedule so he could meet with
various leaders," Nurcholish's spokesman told the Post Saturday.

One of the Golkar presidential candidates, media magnate Surya
Paloh also spent his weekends in Medan, North Sumatra.

"I will continue to participate in the Golkar Party
conventions to elect one presidential candidate from the party,"
Paloh was quoted by Antara as saying.

The New Indonesia Alliance (PIB) Party chose a different
approach. PIB chairman and presidential hopeful Sjahrir visited
traditional markets, including those in Jakarta.

"One of the measures that I choose is visiting traditional
market and meeting as many people as possible just to let them
know me," Sjahrir said earlier.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) had set the official
campaign period from March 11 to April 1, but presidential
aspirants seemed to be eager to start their campaigns earlier.

The new guidelines say parties or candidates breach election
law if they give political speeches or disseminate political
information at open or closed-door gatherings outside of official
campaign times.

Indonesia will hold legislative elections for the House of
Representatives on April 5, and direct presidential elections,
the first since independence in 1945, on July 5, with a possible
runoff on Sept. 20.

A total of 24 political parties will participate in the
legislative election and only parties and/or coalitions of
parties garnering 3 percent of seats in the House or 5 percent of
total votes contested will be allowed to contest the presidential
election on July 5.