Two rivals intensify campaigning

Sampang, NU Online
With the decisive East Java vote reruns scheduled for next month, the two rival gubernatorial candidates are making a final campaign push with supporters in Sampang and Bangkalan regencies where the reruns will be held.

On Thursday, Soekarwo and his running mate Saifullah Yusuf focused their activities on Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in Bangkalan, while rival Khofifah Indar Parawansa and her running mate Mudjiono visited pesantren, fishermen, farmers and traders in the neighboring regency of Sampang.

Soekarwo stressed his courting of pesantren and local officials was part of a political consolidation to get enough support to win the vote rerun scheduled for January 21.

"We will move to Sampang on Saturday and stay there until Sunday to make sure everything's well prepared for the vote rerun," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

A day earlier, Soekarwo held an informal gathering with clerics in Burneh, Sabeneh and a hotel in Bangkalan, where the religious leaders declared their political support for him. At the same time, Khofifah and her campaign team visited pesantren and attended the wedding reception in Sampang of the grandson of the influential cleric Alawy Mohammad.

A majority of eligible voters surveyed Wednesday by the Post in the two regencies said they would vote for Khofifah if the rerun was held on that day.

Khofifah needs to win 310,200 more votes than Soekarwo in the rerun to win the seat of the No. 1 official in the province.

During campaigning on Thursday, Khofifah reiterated her political commitment to bring change to East Java, including Madura, if elected governor. She also claimed the majority of residents in the regency supported her bid, but there was no indication of this in the results of the Nov. 4 vote.

Kholid Elbusyiri, chairman of the National Awakening Party's (PKB) local office and the representative of a group of clerics, said Khofifah had their full support in the upcoming rerun.

Meanwhile, Mutawwakil Alallah, chairman of the provincial office of the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, visited Bangkalan to call on the regent, deputy regent and local clerics to maintain political stability in the run-up to the vote rerun.

He said his visit came in response to strong opposition from local officials to the Constitutional Court verdict for the rerun.

"All interested parties, especially NU members in local administrations, legislative councils and other state institutions, should avoid provoking actions and political maneuvers that can jeopardize political stability. They must respect the court's decision," he said.

Local officials in the two regencies have expressed disappointment over the verdict handed down on Dec. 2 and calling for a vote recount in Pamekasan within 30 days and vote reruns in Sampang and Bangkalan within 60 days.

In Surabaya, Suhartono, chairman of the local office of the election-winning Democratic Party, said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would not intervene in the vote recount and reruns, to ensure unfettered democracy in the province. (dar)