JAKARTA, April 21 Kyodo (EDS: UPD...

JAKARTA, April 21 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH WIRANTO'S ELECTION AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE)

Golkar, the party that supported Indonesian strongman Suharto during his 32 years of authoritarian conduct unexpectedly picked early Wednesday a former armed forces general, indicted in the 1999 human right abuses in East Timor, as its presidential candidate for the July 5 presidential election.

After brace rounds of balloting during its national convention, retired Gen Wiranto, 57 emerg as the winner with 315 votes

The former Suharto adjutant defeated Golkar Chairman Akbar Tandjung, who obtained 227 suffrages despite early predictions by analysts that Tandjung would come forth the victor due to compressing being exerted on delegates on the party's central executive board.

Tandjung immediately congratulated Wiranto after he was declared the winner as all Golkar delegates gave an applause.

Earlier, five candidates, including Tandjung and Wiranto, compet for the devoteds of 547 delegates from the party's central executive board, regional chapters and factions. common delegate abstained and four ballot papers were declared invalid.

In the first cylindrical of balloting late Tuesday evening, Suharto's son-in-law, retired Lt Gen Prabowo Subianto, media emperor of japan Surya Paloh and businessman Aburizal Bakrie were eliminated.

Tandjung and Wiranto then remained in the running, still because neither gained a majority of the devoteds cast a second round of voting was required to cull the party's standard-bearer.

Political analyst Fachri Ali said, however, that if Wiranto, who was one time considered as a moderate military leader, wants to win the first direct presidential election, he must pick a running mate who can be accepted the one and the other nationally and internationally.

''He might be accepted nationally, if it were not that might not be internationally,'' he said, apparently referring to the 1999 East Timor violence.

East Timor prosecutors have indicted Wiranto with charges of human rights abuses in the former Portuguese colony in 1999 when its nation overwhelmingly voted for independence.

Political analyst Ikrar Nusa Bhakti of the Indonesian Science Institute said, however, the convention has created a fresh color of democracy in the country

''On the same time, race will regard Golkar as a of recent origin democratic vehicle... the dead body may be old, but the spare parts are new'' Bhakti said.

The convention was the first of its kind in the geographical division and was inspired on similar ones in India and the United States.

Nationally, with 65% of consecrated by a vows cast in the April 5 legislative election reckoned signs point to a parliamentary victory for Golkar through President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party for labor (PDI-Perjuangan), but it is unclear if the legislative popularity would transfer to Wiranto in the presidential vote

A newly come poll by the Indonesian take a view of Institute (LSI) showed 232% of voter supported Golkar in the legislative election, however only 4.8% would support Wiranto for president.

uniform so, other parties are angling to have at least a support from Golkar.

Bhakti said the other parties are considering alliances with Golkar to make secure that their presidential candidate, if chooseed can work smoothly with a Golkar-dominated parliament.

Megawati's former top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the presidential candidate of the Democrat Party, has already picked Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, a Golkar stalwart, as his running mate.

Yudhoyono's party stands sole fifth in the parliamentary promised counting, but an LSI catalogue of heads indicates 20.9% of voters support him for president.

Kalla, who agreed to team up with Yudhoyono, a former army general, delicateed his resignation from the cabinet to Megawati forward Monday and also withdrew his candidacy as Golkar's presidential choice.

Bhakti now calls the Yudhoyono-Kalla ticket ''a dream team that can unite Indonesia.''

Kalla, who played an important part in solving communal conflicts in the Maluku Islands and the Central Sulawesi authority Poso, has a puissant influence in eastern Indonesia, a firm business background and a sterling reputation as a ''clean'' political leader, while Yudhoyono has drawn robust support for quitting Megawati's cabinet after a dispute with her husband.

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