By Indra Harsaputra
Source : The Jakarta Post
The two contending pairs of East Java gubernatorial candidates have different approaches and strategies in their bids to win the second round of elections.
Khofifah Indar Parawansa and running mate Mudjiono, who were nominated by the United Development Party (PPP), are approaching major political parties whose candidates were defeated in the first round.
Rival Soekarwo and running mate Saifullah Yusuf, nominated by the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Democratic Party, are lobbying ulemas to persuade the golput, a term used to describe eligible voters who choose not to vote.
The Khofifah-Mudjiono pair recently met with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, also chairman of the Golkar Party, and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Both, however, have yet to give their official response.
In the first round, PDI-P won 21.18 percent of the total votes while Golkar gained 19.34 percent.
The Soekarwo-Saifullah pair, on the other hand, met with a number of ulemas to win their support and deployed a number of campaign teams and political volunteers into rural areas to persuade farmers and fishermen who it is believed abstained from voting in the first round.
About 38.38 percent, or 11.1 million of the 29 million eligible voters, were non-voters. According to local political analysts, this was due to their dissatisfaction with the current provincial government and the candidates' unclear political and economic programs.
"We are working harder to convince the golput group so we will win," Soekarwo said Tuesday.
The two pairs secured their tickets to go to the second round after none of the five hopefuls won at least 30 percent of the total votes as is required by Law No. 14/2008 on regional administration.
Soekarwo said he was optimistic the golput group would vote for him and Saifullah to lead the province for the next five years.
The Khofifah-Mudjiono pair's campaign team leader Maskur Hasyim claimed that Megawati had given her personal support for Khofifah with hopes they will support her in her bid for president in 2009.
He also claimed that 700 PAN cadres in the province have pledged to give their political support to Khofifah.
Maskur, also a PPP legislator at the provincial legislature, said his side was conducting was intensively lobbying the country's largest Muslim organization Nadhlatul Ulama (NU), especially its functionaries and supporters in the province.
"Pak Hasyim has pledged to act as a bridge between Khofifah and Mudjiono and NU leaders in the province," he said.
Hasyim has frequently expressed his political support for Khofifah, saying it was not wrong to vote for a female governor.
Before the first round, Khofifah reportedly donated Rp 1 billion to NU and a car worth Rp 100 million to a NU-affiliated woman's organization.
Hasyim admitted receiving a donation from Khofifah -- who is also a member of NU -- but denied it was given to assist Khofifah in the gubernatorial race.
Both the government and the General Election Commission have yet to decide the date for the second round.
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