Joe Cochrane & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri continued their coalition talks behind the scenes as the General Elections Commission (KPU) opened registration for presidential and vice presidential candidates on Sunday.

"We are having discussions and it is good," said Andi Malarangeng, a presidential spokesman and a member of the Democrats' "Team Nine" established to coordinate party strategy ahead of the July presidential poll. "Before it was seen that we were against each other, but now it shows that we can talk to each other. Where it goes, who knows?"

Andi added that they have not yet discussed whether Megawati would be willing to run as Yudhoyono's vice presidential candidate.

Coalition talks between the two parties started last week when State Secretary Hatta Radjasa visited Megawati's house in Menteng, Central Jakarta. That meeting was followed by talks between Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi and a team from the PDI-P.

Pramono Anung, PDI-P's secretary general, said that political communications between the two parties were being established. However, he denied that PDI-P representatives had visited Yudhoyono at his home in Cikeas, Bogor, to discuss a possible coalition. "We are having political communications, and we are doing it with all sides," he said.

There has been speculation among PDI-P supporters that talks between the two parties had been aimed at persuading the PDI-P to turn down a proposal from Prabowo Subianto of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), a former son-in-law of the late President Suharto, to become the party's presidential candidate.

That talk, however, was quickly denied by Democratic Party chairman Hadi Utomo, who said on Sunday, "It is not true, SBY is not afraid of Mega and Prabowo."

The PDI-P must still decide on a coalition for the presidential election, with the KPU having announced the final results for the legislative elections. The PDI-P only received 14.03 percent of the national vote and 93 of the 560 seats in the House of Representatives.

The party would not be able to nominate Megawati as a presidential candidate should it fail to forge a coalition. The Election Law requires that any candidate must be nominated by a party or coalition of parties that has 25 percent of the national vote or 20 percent of the national legislature seats. Yudhyono's Democrats are the only party that can name a candidate without forming a coalition.

"We will discuss our strategy for dealing with the situation. We have time until May 15 because the next day would be the last day to register our presidential and vice presidential candidates," said PDI-P official Tjahjo Kumolo, adding that all of the members of the party's central board would soon attend a meeting to hash out a strategy.

Tjahjo added that the options for his party were between continuing to pursue the nomination of Megawati or not nominating any candidate.

PDI-P could seek a coalition with some of the 29 parties that garnered less than 2.5 percent of the national vote, or it could finalize a coalition agreement with Prabowo's Gerindra, which received 5.36 percent of the vote.

However, Tjahjo stressed that there was no compromise on Megawati being the party's presidential candidate, which meant Prabowo would have to accept the position of vice presidential candidate should the two parties agree to form a coalition.

"We must be realistic," Tjahjo said. "How could a party that gained almost 17 percents of the seats in the House surrender to one that only got 4 percent."