Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Febriamy Hutapea – Two days before the registration deadline for candidates for the July 8 presidential election, Megawati Sukarnoputri was on Thursday still busy finding a running mate, with one of best prospects remaining to her persisting in his wish to run for the top post himself.
The General Elections Commission (KPU) will close the registration at midnight on Saturday.
With time running out on Thursday, Megawati's Indonesian Democracy Party of Struggle (PDI-P) was frantically negotiating with the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), whose chairman, Prabowo Subianto, is believed her strongest option for a running mate. By midnight on Thursday, a concrete agreement between the two remained elusive. Prabowo has been adamant that he was aiming for no less than the presidency.
Megawati and Prabowo had been scheduled on Thursday afternoon to announce their decision to run together, but the decision was later postponed until after Friday prayers. Megawati's daughter, Puan Maharani, said the announcement was delayed because many issues had yet to be agreed on.
Absent from the lobbying was Taufik Kiemas, one of PDI-P's top negotiators and Megawati's husband, who was rushed to a hospital on Wednesday, reportedly from exhaustion. A source at the negotiations said other options were on the table, including pairing Prabowo with Central Java Deputy Governor Rustriningsih, or with Guntur Sukarnopura, Megawati's brother.
The source said the PDI-P demanded that Gerindra foot the campaign bills and leave the authority to decide on cabinet seats to the PDI-P if Megawati was to give up her presidential bid.
The source added that for Prabowo to drop his presidential ambitions, Gerindra insisted that he be given much more authority than a typical vice presidential candidate and that campaign expenses be split equally.
But Puan said the PDI-P was resolute that Megawati would be the presidential candidate. Puan also said the talks were concerned with finding a vice presidential hopeful, not to replace the party's presidential candidate.
PDI-P secretary general Pramono Anung said the party's negotiators were also meeting with other parties but declined to name them.
"These days are very crucial times, not only for the PDI-P but also for the Democrats," he added in an apparent reference to the Democratic Party having yet to officially announce their candidates.
Senior PDI-P politician Sabam Sirait said he had been called up by two parties who were members of Democrats' coalition but he declined to elaborate.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he would officially announce his vice presidential candidate today. His choice is widely expected to be current Bank Indonesia governor and former top economic minister Boediono.
Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla and People's Conscience Party (Hanura) chairman Wiranto are the only pair to have announced their candidacy. They will register at the KPU today, coinciding with Kalla's birthday, party officials have said.