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.