Robert Go, Jakarta – The race for Indonesia's top job heated up yesterday with former president Abdurrahman Wahid, barred from the July 5 election for health reasons, declaring he would still run after talks with leading Muslim clerics.
Separately, Dr Amien Rais, speaker of top legislative body MPR and head of the National Mandate Party (PAN), officially tapped nationalist Siswono Yudhohusodo as his running mate.
Mr Abdurrahman, who led the country between October 1999 and July 2001, said in Tuban, East Java, on Sunday: 'We have all agreed to register me as a presidential candidate. There are still legal avenues available to us.' He was talking after a meeting involving top cadres of his National Awakening Party (PKB) and several influential Javanese clerics.
There was no elaboration of how the former president, popularly known as Gus Dur, plans to challenge regulations on candidates' physical fitness and previous court rulings on this issue, which have all gone against him.
He has suffered at least two strokes, is visually impaired and requires help when walking. Gus Dur's harshest critics, including those who worked to oust him from office in July 2001, have claimed that his frail health detracted from his ability to lead.
PKB sources said the party's leadership would later choose Gus Dur's running mate. The field has apparently thinned to three: Golkar MP Marwah Daud, former decentralisation minister Ryaas Rasyid and actor-cum-politician Sophan Sophiaan.
Dr Amien, meanwhile, became the third candidate to declare a running mate yesterday during a ceremony at the historic Joang (struggle) Building in Central Jakarta.
Previously, leading contender and former security czar Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono linked up with Mr Jusuf Kalla, a prominent businessman and fellow former member of Cabinet.
Incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri also announced last week that she would team up with Mr Hasyim Muzadi, head of Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's biggest Islamic group and a man who could bolster her popularity with Java's Muslim voters.
Dr Amien and his number-two choice, Mr Siswono, are being described as a good blend of nationalist and Islamic politics.
While the former is popular with urban Muslims, Mr Siswono, a former Cabinet member and the boss of Indonesian Farmer Association HKTI, could pull in rural votes.
Dr Amien's choice also satisfies the Java-Outside-Java formula that many observers say is a key to winning the presidential election.
Whereas the candidate is from Java, his running mate is also expected to bolster his popularity in the country's outer islands, especially in his home region of East Kalimantan.
Candidates are required formally to register themselves by the end of this week.
At least one more pairing is expected involving retired general Wiranto, the controversial former armed forces chief who won the Golkar party nomination.