Wahid offers power to deputy

Wahid and Megawati both walked out within half an hour

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has offered his deputy a power-sharing deal in a last-ditch attempt to avoid impeachment - just hours after insisting he would not do so.

Senior leaders of Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri's party have already said she has rejected the offer.

At a news conference later in the day, an official from her party said Mr Wahid had effectively threatened her, by saying he would impose a state of emergency within the next few hours unless parliament dropped plans to impeach him.

Wahid has remained defiant throughout the crisis

But a presidential spokesman said Mr Wahid had not set a deadline and would not declare a state of emergency as this would spark violence.

Senior military officers have repeatedly warned that they would not support the president if he did impose a state of emergency - a move which would enable him to dissolve parliament and thus block impeachment plans.

Mr Wahid himself denied any intention to do so. "No, there's no such thing," he said.

Mr Wahid, who for months has faced a rising chorus of criticism, is now fighting for political survival after two censures by parliament for alleged corruption and incompetence.

Megawati made a veiled attack on Wahid in a speech recently

Parliament is set to meet on Wednesday to decide whether to call a special session of the national assembly to impeach the president.

The BBC's Richard Galpin says Mr Wahid needs to strike some kind of deal very quickly with Ms Megawati, whose party controls the largest block of seats in parliament.

The Security Minister has warned of possible violence unless a compromise was reached soon.

Walkout

Both Mr Wahid and Ms Megawati had walked out of a crucial cabinet meeting to resolve the crisis earlier in the day.

Ms Megawati made no comment as she left presidential palace grounds about 15 minutes after the meeting began. President Wahid followed several minutes later.

A cabinet minister, Zarkasih Noer, said Mr Wahid had offered to surrender some of his executive powers to his deputy to avoid impeachment.

Some supporters want to fight a 'holy war' for Wahid

The president's offer apparently involved making Ms Megawati head of the government while the beleaguered Mr Wahid would remain head of state.

But the party's secretary-general, Sutjipto, told Reuters news agency: "Ibu [Mother] Megawati rejects the power-sharing offer... even if it is constitutional."

One party official told the BBC's Richard Galpin that Ms Megawati was unhappy with the wording, and that her allies were worried it was, as he put it, a political trick.

There has been no official confirmation from Ms Megawati.

Holy war

Mr Wahid's apparent resolve to remain in office may rest on his thousands of supporters who say they will fight a "holy war" for him.

Jakarta has seen constant protests in the last few months by supporters and opponents of the president.

If impeached, Mr Wahid could be removed from office within months.

The popular Ms Megawati, daughter of the country's founding President Sukarno, would be almost certain to replace him.