Archrivals Prabowo, Wiranto to meet, discuss possible election rerun

Jakarta, NU Online
Prabowo Subianto and his former-rival Wiranto, both retired military generals, will meet later today to discuss ways to press for an election rerun in some localities.

Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) chairman Suhardi said Monday that Prabowo and Wiranto would compare notes on alleged election violations, particularly surrounding reports of the omission of many eligible voters from the official voters' list.<>

"Today, Pak Prabowo and Pak Wiranto will discuss the possibility of an election rerun," Suhardi told tempointeraktif.com.

Earlier, representatives from 22 minor parties met at the Dharmawangsa Hotel in South Jakarta to discuss possible legal action against the Election Commission and the government for what they claim were widespread elections violations.

Prabowo founded Gerindra and Wiranto the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) before the legislative elections.

According to quick counts, Gerindra has garnered around 4.5 percent of the total vote and Hanura around 3.5 percent, enough to earn seats at the House of Representatives but not enough to nominate their own presidential candidate.

Both parties have agreed to form a coalition with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the parliament and for the upcoming presidential election.

Wiranto, the former commander of the Indonesian Military, fired Prabowo from his position as commander of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) during the power struggle after the fall of former dictator Soeharto in the late 1990s. (jp/dar)