Adianto P. Simamora and Slamet Susanto, Jakarta/Yogyakarta – With coalition talks between parties intensifying ahead of the presidential election, strife is brewing within the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the United Development Party (PPP) over whether to support President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's re-election bid.
PAN advisory board chairman Amien Rais hosted a closed-door meeting with 28 heads of the party's provincial chapters in Yogyakarta on Sunday, with party chairman Soetrisno Bachir absent. The latter was busy monitoring the vote tally from the April 9 legislative elections.
The meeting, held at Amien's home, resulted in a four-point recommendation, including the need to build a coalition with Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and to involve the advisory body that Amien chairs in any discussion about PAN vice presidential hopefuls.
Amien, the former PAN chairman and a presidential candidate in the 2004 election, refused to be named Yudhoyono's running mate. He said he would arrange a meeting between Yudhoyono and Soetrisno to discuss the issues of a coalition and vice president.
"The result [of this meeting] will be tabled at the party's plenary meeting on April 27," Amien said.
The meeting comes only a week after Soetrisno met with Prabowo Subianto, presidential candidate from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) for coalition talks. There has been no follow-up to that tjte-'-tjte.
PAN East Nusa Tenggara head Eurico Guteres said the Yogyakarta meeting was an informal talk to determine the party's stance ahead of the July 8 presidential poll.
But Soetrisno's confidant Sayuti Asyathi played down the significance of the meeting, saying it was only a gathering to voice the aspirations of the party's members.
"There's nothing special about the meeting. It was only aimed at gathering aspirations, but it did not represent party policy," said Sayuti, who was absent from the meeting. He dismissed speculation the gathering reflected internal party strife, saying "There are no rifts within the party."
Asked why Soetrisno had skipped out despite Amien's invitation, Sayuti said, "Pak Soetrisno did not know the development of the meeting."
He insisted the party had set an internal ruling requiring all members respect the party's decisions, including on the coalition issue.
As of Sunday, data from the Vote Tabulation Center showed the PAN with about 6 percent of votes, in fifth place just behind the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
Internal discord has also rocked the PPP, and it peaked Friday when a group of party members took over the party's headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta. The takeover continued through Sunday.
The members demanded chairman Suryadharma Ali step down in light of the party's poor showing in the legislative elections. Quick counts revealed the Islamic-based party received only 5 percent of votes, down from 8 percent in 2004.
Suryadharma has met with leaders of other parties, including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which is likely to nominate Megawati Soekarnoputri as its presidential candidate, alongside SBY and Gerindra's Prabowo.
PPP chief patron Bachtiar Chamsyah claimed the majority of PPP supporters backed Yudhoyono's reelection bid.