SBY TO HOLD CAMPAIGN RALLY IN BANDAR LAMPUNG

Bandar Lampung, southern Sumatra, June 16 (ANTARA) - Presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was scheduled to hold an electoral campaign rally at Saburai sports stadium here on Tuesday (June 16), according to a source in his local campaign team.

The campaign rally would start at 9 a.m. local time and be attended by around 2,000 supporters and sympathizers of SBY, a source at Bravo Media Center said here on Monday evening.

SBY's entourage will include United Development Party (PPP) chairman Surya Darma Ali, Reform Star Party (PBR) Chairman Bursah Sarnubi, and executives of the Democratic Party.

Some artists such as Mike Idol, Joy Tobing and Rio Febrian will entertain the audience at the rally.

From Bandar Lampung, Yudhoyono will proceed to Bakauheni harbor and take a ferry to cross the Sunda Strait to Merak seaport in Banten Province, western Java.

On the way, SBY will visit several markets and hold dialog with local traders and buyers. On the ferry, he will also have a dialog with other passengers.

Earlier, he had campaigned in Malang (East Java), Kendari (Southeast Sulawesi) and Kupang (East Nusa Tenggara).

When campaigning in Kupang last weekend, Yudhoyono repeated his promise to pay attention to fair and equitable development outside Java.

"There should be no discrimination between regions in Java and regions outside Java, or between urban areas and villages in carrying out development in the coming five years," Yudhoyono said.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) has set schedules for closed-door campaigning from June 2 to 10, and mass rallies from June 11 to July 4, 2009. The presidential elections will be held on July 8, 2009.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who pairs with Boediono, are competing with other candidates, namely Jusuf Kalla and Wiranto, as well as with former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and Prabowo Subianto in the upcoming presidential race.