Soeharto won't name VP choice

Soeharto won't name VP choice

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto insisted yesterday he would
not announce his preferred running mate for another term in
office before factions in the People's Consultative Assembly
unveiled their vice presidential candidates.

The head of the Pancasila state ideology proselytizing body,
Alwi Dahlan, said after meeting with the President at the
latter's residence on Jl. Cendana that it was each sociopolitical
organization's right to name candidates for the second top post,
and not the President's.

"Why should they wait for me? This shows that many people
don't understand the Constitution. They expect me to name a vice
presidential candidate.

"I cannot name anyone because I'm not even a presidential
candidate. I will be named a candidate only after certain
procedures are carried out," Soeharto was quoted by Alwi as
saying.

Soeharto was responding to debate as to whether he should
announce his desired second in command as soon as possible to
help ease the country's economic woes.

The 1,000-member Assembly will convene from March 1 to March
11 to endorse the state policy guidelines and elect the next
president and vice president.

Soeharto said he would be reelected if he was nominated and
deemed capable of executing the policy guidelines, Alwi said.

A 1973 Assembly decree, which remains effective, says that a
vice presidential candidate must be able to cooperate with the
elected president. By convention, each faction in the Assembly
consults with the elected president prior to the vice
presidential election.

Alwi said Soeharto would name who he favors for the vice
presidency after representatives of each faction consult him on
the subject, assuming he is elected president.

The dominant political group Golkar, the Armed Forces, the
bureaucracy and the United Development Party have all pledged to
support Soeharto's renomination for another five-year term.

However they are keeping their vice presidential candidates a
secret, saying that they will reveal the names during the
Assembly's general session.

Golkar has also listed a set of criteria its vice presidential
candidate must meet, but Alwi quoted Soeharto as saying yesterday
that Golkar did not do that for his benefit.

"The requirements come purely from Golkar, and it's every
organization's right to set criteria," Alwi said.

Strategy

Alwi speculated that the political organizations refused to
announce their nominees for the vice presidency for strategic
reasons while they were still deliberating possible candidates.

"A political organization may need to lobby (party executives)
if it has three different candidates, or perhaps it feels it
needs to gain mass support and introduce its candidate to the
public in a bid to make its rival organizations follow suit.
That's politics," Alwi said.

He said such processes would enable each political
organization to have only one vice presidential candidate,

"There is no guarantee that a political organization that
makes an early announcement on a vice presidential candidate will
present the same nominee to the elected president," Alwi said.

He said the public and societal groups were allowed to name
their own vice presidential candidates, but they must channel
their aspirations through the Assembly.

"A person will qualify for the vice presidential race as long
as he or she is nominated by a faction in the Assembly," Alwi
said.

The Assembly has so far accepted the nomination of, among
others, Vice President Try Sutrisno, Minister of Research and
Technology B.J. Habibie, State Minister of National Development
Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Minister of Information R.
Hartono, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Wiranto and House of
Representatives Speaker Harmoko.

Separately, Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Lt. Gen. Syarwan
Hamid suggested that the Armed Forces should unveil its vice
presidential candidate when it holds a leadership meeting from
Feb. 10 to Feb. 12.

"At least the revelation will give people some certainty on
who will accompany President Soeharto. It will help the
government restore public confidence in the wake of the economic
turmoil," he said. (prb/amd)