Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Yenny Wahid, the second daughter of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, on Monday announced she was forming her own political party.

Yenny, whose birth name is Zannuba Arifah Chafsoh Wahid, said she registered the new party with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and was now awaiting government approval and recognition.

Elected in December as the leader of a splinter group that emerged from her father's National Awakening Party (PKB), Yenny has been unsuccessful in gaining rights to the party name.

PKB secretary general Imam Nahrawi on Monday welcomed her decision to establish a separate party.

"Such a decision is better than always claiming that she is a representative of PKB. In a legal context, there's no double leadership in PKB," Imam said. "Indonesia is a democratic country, no one will ban her from establishing a new party."

Yenny's father, Abdurrahman Wahid, known popularly as Gus Dur, served as chairman of Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, for 15 years. He founded the PKB in 1998 to provide a political voice to NU members, and was elected the nation's president in 1999.

But the PKB split in 2004 when Gus Dur dismissed Muhaimin Iskandar as the party's secretary general after an internal spat. Muhaimin contested his dismissal in court and won.

He then organized a congress that elected him as chairman and the government recognized his camp as the official bearers of the party name. The Gus Dur camp in the conflict has since become a splinter group of the party.

Yenny called on members who supported her during December's meeting of the faction in Surabaya to help her establish the new party. She claimed she has the support of around 33 provincial branch offices of the pro-Gus Dur PKB camp.

"If the party is approved by the ministry and is able to compete in general elections, I am prepared to come out to rural areas to struggle for the party's programs and Gus Dur's ideals. I am ready to go to villages for the sake of the greatness of Gus Dur and the party," Yenny said, as quoted by Antara news.

She declined to reveal any further details about the party's leadership or political platform.

The PKB's Imam said it did not expect to lose too many members to Yenny's new party.

"Our party members know who the real figures behind her are, and our members won't be interested with them," Imam said, without clarifying which figures he was referring to.

"We are even ready to help her with her new party. So, welcome to politics. It's more mature than just an ongoing war of claiming ownership of the PKB name."

Indobarometer executive director Muhammad Qodari praised Yenny's step. He said that many hoped the new party would provide a platform for expressing the political aspirations and interests of NU members.

With around a third of the country's population being members or supporters of NU, Yenny's new party is likely to become a powerful force. Qodari said that the fact that PKB under Muhaimin only scored about five percent of the votes in 2009, showed that many NU members no longer voted for the party and could likely be swayed to support Yenny.