Amy Chew, Jakarta – Indonesia's military will back presidential frontrunner Megawati Sukarnoputri if she picks armed forces chief General Wiranto as her vice presidential candidate, military sources said on Thursday.
The armed forces (ABRI), whose appointees will make up almost eight percent of the new parliament, have been negotiating with Megawati and key figures of former president Suharto's regime.
"One of the options presented to Megawati was for her to pick Wiranto as her vice-president in exchange for the military's support for her presidential bid," said one military source. "And the military is prepared to support her."
The sources said it was not yet clear what the military would do if Megawati chose another running mate.
Megawati's opposition Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) holds a commanding polls lead as counting continues after the June 7 parliamentary election, with almost 36 percent of the vote. The ruling Golkar party is second on 19 percent. The General Election Commission (KPU) is due to announce a final result next Wednesday.
Tentative results from the poll are expected at 8pm on Thursday, if a flight carrying results from the last of the country's 27 provinces arrives in Jakarta as scheduled.
The parliament will join with 200 provincial and community appointees to sit as the People's Consultative Assembly in November to select a president and vice-president. Thirty-eight of parliament's 500 seats are reserved for ABRI appointees.
Megawati is the frontrunner for the presidential election but faces strong opposition from Moslem politicians and leaders who say a woman cannot lead the world's largest Moslem nation.
The other leading contender in the first open presidential contest is President B.J. Habibie, who has Golkar's support.
No party is likely to win an outright parliamentary majority, which means the military could hold the balance of power.
But senior PDI-P official and retired general Theo Syafei said the party has not considered Wiranto as a vice presidential candidate. "We are waiting for the final results from the vote count before making any decisions. Wiranto's name has not been discussed," he told Reuters.
In preparation for Wiranto's possible nomination, the military will create the position of deputy armed forces chief, said the military source.
"Admiral Widodo from the navy will be appointed as deputy armed forces chief, either this week or next week. This is to ensure that someone can take over from Wiranto if he is elected as vice president," the source said. Wiranto, who is also defence minister, currently has no deputy.
Military sources said Megawati's policies are in tune with ABRI's, especially her commitment to a unitary state and opposition to calls for the country to become a federation.