Ex-President’s Daughter Picked to Head Opposition in Indonesia

Opposition delegates unanimously elected the daughter of Indonesia’s founding president as chairwoman of her opposition group Saturday, the first step in her bid for the country’s presidency.

Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of independence leader and former President Sukarno, was the only candidate on the ballot of her faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party and got every vote--along with shrieks of joy and wild applause.

After the show of hands, the 900 delegates from Indonesia’s 27 provinces chanted, “Mega must win.”

“I voted for Mega. All the delegates voted for Mega, and we want her to be nominated for the presidency of this country. Mega belongs to the people,” said Pati, a delegate from central Java.

Megawati, who was elected to a five-year term, was not present during the vote on the island of Bali but spoke later Saturday at the end of the three-day conference.

“This is not the end of the struggle but only the start,” she said. Megawati would face President B. J. Habibie in next year’s election.

During the party congress, she promised that if elected she would investigate corruption allegations against former President Suharto, who did everything he could while in power to thwart her career.