PDI defies internal rift in upcoming election

PDI defies internal rift in upcoming election

By Dwi Atmanta

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) looks like
a bull licking its wounds while preparing for its next, tougher,
fight, namely the general election.

With its internal rift lingering on, the minority party, with
a bull's head as its symbol, claims the past is behind it as it
gears up for the May 29 poll.

Deputy chairwoman of the government-recognized PDI, Fatimah
Achmad, said yesterday that the year-long spat among the party's
top leaders would not be a hurdle to its efforts to win more
votes.

"We aren't worried about losing votes because we are well
prepared," Fatimah said. "We are used to facing internal
conflicts -- they have been part of the party since its
foundation 24 years ago."

PDI comprises five nationalist and Christian parties who
merged in 1973 following the government's decision to reduce the
number of recognized political organizations from 10 to three.

The fusion has caused many internal disputes since then,
prompted mostly by rivalry among its leaders. Analysts have
predicted the minority party is now mired in its most serious
conflict ever because it involves the family of Sukarno, the
country's charismatic founding father with whom the party has
historic links.

The conflict-ridden PDI plunged into its latest crisis
following a breakaway congress which dethroned the democratically
elected leader Megawati Soekarnoputri and reinstated former
chairman Soerjadi to power.

Megawati, Sukarno's eldest daughter, took the top post in
place from Soerjadi in January 1994 but only after surviving a
tense congress in December 1993.

Last year's crisis peaked with the forceful takeover of the
PDI's headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, on July 27
by Soerjadi supporters. Five people were killed and another 23
are still missing from the incident, according to the National
Commission on Human Rights.

Grassroots

Fatimah believes the party's grassroots supporters know about
the split within the group's elite, but never think of changing
their allegiance.

"A PDI cadre always sticks to the party's ideals, no matter
who the leaders are. So I have no worries about the excess of the
current internal dispute toward our election program," Fatimah
said.

"The previous elections proved that internal conflict has not
affected our election achievements," she said.

The PDI's House representation has increased in the last three
elections, from 24 in 1982 to 40 in 1987 and 56 in 1992, although
the party was beleaguered by disputes in each of the elections.

No special program has been planned by the rival PDI faction
under Megawati, which many people believe has millions of
supporters, according to Megawati loyalist Soetardjo
Soerjogoeritno.

"We will just keep struggling to seek recognition of our
legislative candidates, because we are the legitimate
leadership," he said over the weekend.

He said, however, the PDI under Megawati would not prohibit
its supporters from not voting if the government refused to
accept their demands. The government dismissed the demands with
the endorsement of Soerjadi's candidates earlier this month,

"Why should we force our supporters to go to polling booths if
they have nobody to vote for?" he said.

Fatimah said the government-backed PDI had deployed 60,000
village-level cadres throughout the archipelago to seek public
sympathy through a number of neighborhood programs.

The cadres helped people in villages obtain their election
registration forms and will remind them of all procedures they
have to follow prior to the election.

Despite her guarded optimism, Fatimah declined to disclose
PDI's election target. The party, she said, just wanted to
improve on the last election.

"We consider our mission successful if the election organizers
make no modifications to the rules we have all accepted, even
though the rules need improvement," she said.

"Once the rules are rigidly implemented, we can hope to
increase our vote," she added.

Fatimah estimated the party's election spending could exceed
Rp 20 billion (US$ 8.5 million). "We are relying on our
supporters' to raise the funds," she said.