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Campaign period ends on high
Art and politics: Jakarta Governor and presidential aspirant Joko âJokowiâ Widodo (left) meets singer Iwan Fals at the latterâs residence in Gunung Putri, Bogor, West Java, Thursday
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Art and politics: Jakarta Governor and presidential aspirant Joko âJokowiâ Widodo (left) meets singer Iwan Fals at the latterâs residence in Gunung Putri, Bogor, West Java, Thursday. Jokowi, an avid lover of rock music, said Iwan was the first of some artists he planned to personally meet. (JP/P.J. Leo) (left) meets singer Iwan Fals at the latterâs residence in Gunung Putri, Bogor, West Java, Thursday. Jokowi, an avid lover of rock music, said Iwan was the first of some artists he planned to personally meet. (JP/P.J. Leo)
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span class="inline inline-none">Art and politics: Jakarta Governor and presidential aspirant Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo (left) meets singer Iwan Fals at the latter's residence in Gunung Putri, Bogor, West Java, Thursday. Jokowi, an avid lover of rock music, said Iwan was the first of some artists he planned to personally meet. (JP/P.J. Leo)
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chair Megawati Soekarnoputri made a final push on the party's last day of legislative campaigning in Bali, calling on voters to use more than physical appearance to influence their choice of candidate.
Speaking before thousands of party supporters at Sanggalangit Arena in Buleleng, Megawati lambasted voters, especially women, for judging candidates on their looks rather than track records.
'After I lost the two previous presidential elections, I met with women and asked them why they did not vote for me,' she said. 'They told me that they supported me but were more attracted to the photo of a handsome candidate on the ballot paper.'
In the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections, Megawati lost to Democratic Party chief patron Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired army general who was very popular among female voters due to his apparent good looks.
Both Yudhoyono and Megawati will not contest this year's presidential election with the former not allowed to run for a third term and the latter deciding instead to endorse Jakarta Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo as her party's presidential candidate.
Jokowi's strongest opponent is likely to be Gerindra Party chief patron Prabowo Subianto, who in recent weeks has stepped up his media campaign to make himself look more presidential.
Megawati urged PDI-P supporters to not judge Jokowi on his physique.
'In my first meeting with Jokowi, I remember how I thought he was very skinny and physically unattractive. Then I saw how he worked [in Surakarta]. He was very diligent and regularly made unannounced visits. People love him for this as they feel a close connection with him,' she said.
Based on Law No. 42/2008 on the presidential election, only a political party or a coalition that garners 20 percent of the seats at the House of Representatives or 25 percent of the popular vote in the legislative election is eligible to contest the presidential election.
In Jakarta, Yudhoyono used his party's last day of campaigning in the capital to share success stories from his time in the top job.
Speaking in a lavish, closed-door gathering at a hall at the Jakarta International Expo in Kemayoran, he said that his successes included creating peace in conflict-prone Aceh, developing transportation infrastructure, bringing down the poverty rate and increasing the annual per capita income.
'The rise [of annual per capita income] is real and we should be thankful for that,' he said, to thundering applause from the audience.
Yudhoyono also cited his government's full support of corruption eradication campaigns.
'If you open the history book, you will acknowledge that today is the era of the country's most aggressive fight against corruption,' he said.
A number of the Dems' politicians have been implicated in corruption cases, including former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng; former party chairman Anas Urbaningrum; former treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin; former Bengkulu governor Agusrin Najamuddin, and former lawmaker Angelina Sondakh.
In Semarang, Prabowo made his final pitch for Gerindra by telling supporters if he won the presidential election he would build 3,000 kilometers of new railway, 3,000 km of new road and a national car factory.
'We will also multiply the state budget allocated to the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK]. Gerindra stands to fight against corruption. Let us empower the KPK and eradicate corruption right down to its roots,' he said.
Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, who was in Kupang on Thursday, held a meeting with 30 religious leaders in the region.
He openly asked the religious figures to support Golkar in the April 9 legislative election and himself in the July 9 presidential election.
Suherdjoko contributed to this article from Semarang and Bagus BT Saragih from Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.
