Three hundred Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) clerics are coming together at Edi Mancoro, an Islamic boarding school in Salatiga, to discuss the upcoming legislative elections.
School founder Mahfud Ridwan said the one-day meeting followed growing concerns among the clerics about possible conflicts between supporters of different parties or within parties and the potentially widespread vote-buying which parties or candidates might engage in.<>
"If that happens, the election outcomes will contradict our commitment to democracy, religious moral values and the fight against corruption. We will have wasted trillions of rupiahs we spent on the elections if such practices prevail," Mahfud said.
NU general chairman KH Hasyim Muzadi, noted cleric KH Mustafa Bisri and leaders from the Islamic boarding schools run by the country's largest Muslim organization were invited to the meeting. (jp/dar)