Bali supports Megawati as PDI-P chairwoman

Members of the Bali branches of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have voiced their support for Megawati Soekarnoputri's re-election bid as the party's chairwoman in the national congress in Bali in April.

Anak Agung Oka Ratmadi, the chairman of PDI-P Bali, said that 55 PDI-P branches in Bali supported Megawati's bid. "We want Mega to continue to lead the party," Ratmadi said on the sidelines of a PDI-P regional congress at the Nikko Hotel in Denpasar last Saturday.

Megawati Soekarnoputri and other PDI-P leaders including Pramono Anung and Sony Keraf were present at the regional congress.

She may face her sibling Guruh Soekarnoputra, an entertainer turned politician, who said he would run for the post and is believed to be a strong contender to his eldest sister.

During an interview with Bali TV last weekend, he said that the party needed "new blood and rejuvenation". - JP