Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surabaya – The National Awakening Party (PKB) looks certain to throw its support behind Golkar presidential candidate Gen. (ret) Wiranto after the General Elections Commission (KPU) declared its own candidate, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, ineligible to stand.
PKB chairman Alwi Shihab said the policy was in line with the decision of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) senior clerics who preferred Wiranto as the PKB's alternative presidential candidate. "We will follow the clerics' suggestion and will support Wiranto should Gus Dur fail to contest the presidential election," Alwi told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Wiranto has named Gus Dur's brother Solahuddin Wahid as his running mate. Solahuddin is the deputy chairman of NU, the organization that founded the PKB and the largest Muslim organization in the country.
Alwi said the PKB would formalize its support for Wiranto after the KPU publicly announced the eligible candidates for the presidential election on May 22. "We will only announce our decision after the KPU finally decides on the fate of Gus Dur," Alwi, a former foreign minister, said.
The KPU decision to disqualify Gus Dur, whose vision is impaired, on health grounds was been leaked to the media on Friday. Gus Dur, who was dismissed as president in 2001, ostensibly for incompetence, has threatened to sue the commission for thwarting his comeback bid.
Gus Dur has approved his brother's nomination as Golkar's vice presidential candidate, but asserted that the PKB would not vote for the rival party despite his previous meetings with Wiranto.
The KPU required all presidential candidates to pass medical tests, including an eye examination.
The PKB's East Java chapter leader Choirul Anam said that all regional branches of the party in the province were ready to support the duo of Wiranto and Solahuddin should Gus Dur be declared ineligible to stand. "But, the decision must wait until there is a formal decision on Gus Dur's fate. We are prepared to support the pairing [Wiranto and Solahuddin]," Choirul said.
He said the decision had been endorsed by most NU clerics in East Java, the PKB stronghold. "Gus Dur's chances look slim now, but Solahuddin has a better chance of winning," Choirul said.
Solahuddin is not the only NU leader who has announced his intention to contest the July 5 election. NU top leader Hasyim Muzadi will also participate in the race as the running mate of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri.
The fight to win NU support is continuing with Megawati and Hasyim intensifying their approaches to the clerics.
A member of the Megawati reelection center, Hermawan Sulistyo, said Hasyim as NU chairman was seen as serving as a moral guardian for Megawati should she win. "We are counting on him not because of how many votes he can bring in, but rather for his image as a moral guardian for the next government," Hermawan, who is also a political analyst, told the Post on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Hidayat Nurwahid, said on Sunday that his party would soon issue a recommendation as to which presidential candidate its members should vote for in the July 5 election. "We will issue the recommendation before the start of the presidential election campaign," Hidayat told reporters on the sidelines of a rally condemning the US occupation of Iraq. The campaign will run from June 1 to June 30.
Hidayat said the recommendation could not be revealed now as the KPU had yet to announce the eligible candidates for the presidential election. The PKS, which came seventh in the April 5 legislative election, has decided not to contest the presidential election but vowed to take on the role of an opposition in the future House.