It’s the season to party!: Supporters of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) swarm the Mandala Krida soccer stadium in Yogyakarta on Tuesday to take part in the party’s election rally, which was also attended by the chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly, Hidayat Nurwahid, a member of the party’s advisory board. JP/Tarko Sudiarno

Vice President Jusuf Kalla launched his debut campaign leading the Golkar Party in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan and its surrounding areas Tuesday.

During  the event, he made a commitment to improve the social welfare of farmers, fisherman and other impoverished groups over the next 5 years if the party wins the upcoming legislative elections.

Upon his arrival in a chartered aircraft from Jakarta, Kalla and a large group of Golkar branch leaders undertook a marathon campaign through the city, Langkat and Binjai, claiming his party wished to take the nation to new heights and improve the livelihoods of all struggling people.

Kalla assured his audience that Golkar, which won 21 percent of total votes and House seats in the 2004 legislative elections, was reliable as they had proven their worthiness through efforts in both the government and parliament in the past.

“The people should believe in Golkar. As its leader, I have tried to maintain national peace through mediating warring factions in Poso, Maluku and Aceh in the past,” he said to Antara news agency.

Hidayat Nurwahid, chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly and a senior figure of the Prosoperous Justice Party (PKS), claimed the party would win 20 percent of the election votes before 30,000 students and supporters at the Mandala Krida Stadion in Yogyakarta.

This promised figure is considerably higher than the 2004 result of 7.6 percent, and will allow the party to nominate a presidential or vice presidential candidate in the July presidential race if successful.

He said PKS had proven itself a party free of corruption, with none of its legislators or current cabinet figures being involved in scandals.

Many parties chose to run campaign activities focused on social charity as opposed to large-scale rallies and public marches, with major events lacking in Jakarta and other major provinces.

The General Election Commission (KPU) was to meet with eligible political parties Tuesday in Jakarta to set a detailed schedule for campaign activities, but most are planning on cutting back on mass rallies as they conducted similar events throughout the limited indoor campaign season which began in July 2008.  

The Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB) headed by former president Soeharto’s daughter Siti Hardiyanti “Tutut” Rukmana  conducted a free medical checkup among the elderly in Jakarta.

In the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu, traders and shoppers protested when campaigners for the Democratic Party only distributed party stickers at their event in a traditional market in the city.    

Before thousands of eligible voters at a sports stadium in Sidoarjo, East Java, Chairman of the Gerindra Party Prabowo Subianto reiterated that he and his party have designed a concrete program to alleviate poverty and send all children to school to improve the nation in the future.

He also called on the provincial police to be transparent in their investigations into the election violations which occurred during the Jan. 25, 2009, gubernatorial re-election in Bangkalan and Sampang.

Former president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid’s daughter Zannubah Ariffah Chafsoh Rahman, who accompanied Prabowo on the campaign, said she was helping Gerindra campaign efforts in an attempt to weaken Muhaimin Iskandar’s camp and his supporters in the province.

Following the campaign activities, Prabowo and Yenny Wahid paid a courtesy call to a number

of influential clerics to shore up political support for his presidential candidacy.

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