Speaking to a thousand Golkar activists in Padang, West Sumatra, the party chairman, Harmoko (who is also Information Minister) said that anyone who calls on members of the public to boycott the elections is acting unconstitutionally. He called on GOLKAR members to report people making such calls to the security authorities so that measures can be taken against them.

He said that although the Indonesian public is now much more politically aware and less likely to be influenced by such campaigns, people should beware of boycott campaigns. 'Although calls for a boycott had little effect in the past three elections,' he said, 'we need to be vigilant because a boycott would damage the legal structure and be a breach of the regulations.'