ID Nugroho, Surabaya – Political parties in East Java have recruited members from a dominant local Muslim organization in an apparent strategy to win the province's first-ever gubernatorial election in July.
The Golkar Party, which holds 15 of the 100 seats in the provincial legislature, has nominated chairman of the Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) provincial chapter, Ali Maschan Moesa, as running mate of incumbent vice governor Soenaryo.
The coalition of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Democratic Party (PD) nominated chairman of the NU-affiliated youth organization, Ansor Syaifullah Yusuf, as running mate of the secretary of the provincial government, Soekarwo.
The NU-affiliated National Awakening Party (PKB), which formed a coalition with the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), has decided to nominate influential NU figure Achmady as a candidate for governor and is seeking a suitable figure to run alongside him. PKB holds 31 seats in the provincial legislature.
Minority parties have approached female NU member Khofifah Inda Parawansa to be running mate of their governor hopeful Djoko Subroto, former chief of the Brawijaya Military Command overseeing security in the province.
Political scientist Kacung Marijan of Airlangga University said it was a clever political strategy but it would not guarantee victory in the July 23 election. "The race will ultimately show which of the NU figures wins the hearts of the people," he said.
Kacung warned political parties not to misinterpret the changing political culture in the province, saying since NU returned to its 1926 nonpolitical khittah (principle) in 1984, NU members have not heeded their leaders in political matters.
"Nahdliyin (NU members) have become politically literate since this large Muslim organization pulled out of politics, because they have been able to separate religious matters from political ones. They know who they will vote for," he said.
According to Machmud Djujono, chairman of the Soenaryo-Ali campaign team, Ali will pick up votes in the governor race because he has a good track record in the province's politics, in addition to his influence among NU members.
Machmud said the pair made a suitable combination of nationalist-religious ideologies representing laymen and clerics.
Golkar hopes Ali will win a majority of votes from both party supporters and NU members, he said. According to data from the local NU office, 40 percent of the province's 33 million residents are NU members.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which holds 25 seats in the provincial legislature, has not adopted this strategy. PDI-P has decided to nominate influential PDI-P figure Sutjipto, with Ridwan Hisyam, a local Golkar figure, as his running mate.
Sutjipto, who is a member of the home affairs commission at the House of Representatives and a senior figure loyal to PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, is favorite to win the governor race. If so, the victory is expected to pave the way for the party to have Megawati win the 2009 presidential election.
Major political parties have been in fierce competition to win local elections in Java, home to almost 63 percent of the national population.