AWAN SUPPORTS MEGA-PRO DUO

Depok, July 3 (ANTARA) - The National Mandate Women Alliance (AWAN) gave its support to presidential and vice presidential candidates Megawati Soekarnoputri - Prabowo Subianto (Mega-Pro) to lead the nation in the coming five years.

"Prabowo is a leader who is close to the people and is able to improve the people's respect and dignity," AWAN advisor, Lukita Purnama Darisman, said here on Friday.

She said that AWAN supported the Mega-Pro ticket because the presidential and vice presidential aspirants had since the beginning expressed their clear vision and missions and paid attention to small people and women.

So, the pair deserved to be elected as the national leader, she said.

Lukita said Amien Rais had also given freedom to AWAN to make its own choice and elect the presidential and vice presidential candidates it wanted to elect.

She said that Prabowo had since the beginning won the sympathy of members of the women wing organization of the National Mandate Party (PAN).

Three presidential candidates are to contest in the upcoming presidential polls on July 8 for the 2009-2014 term of office.

The three presidential and vice presidential pairs are Megawati Soekarnoputri and her running mate Prabowo Subianto (Mega-Pro), Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his pair Boediono (SBY-Boediono), and Jusuf Kalla who runs for president with Wiranto (JK-WIN).

Megawati is former president and leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party - Struggle (PDIP) while her mate Prabowo is the chairman of the Greater Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) party and a former commander of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is incumbent president and chief patron of the Democratic Party (PD) while his running mate Boediono is a former governor of Bank Indonesia, the central bank.

Jusuf Kalla is incumbent vice president and chairman of the Golkar Party while Wiranto, a former commander of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and chairman of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura).***1***