Megawati chooses running mate

Mrs Megawati hopes the alliance will appeal to Muslim voters

President Megawati Sukarnoputri has chosen the leader of Indonesia's largest Muslim group as her vice-presidential running mate.

Hasyim Muzadi is the chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which has 40 million followers.

Mrs Megawati is currently trailing behind Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ahead of the 5 July presidential poll.

Supporters hope links with a Muslim group - in the world's most populous Muslim country - may help her cause.

About 148 million voters will go to the polls in July, to choose a president and vice-president in the country's first direct presidential election.

"Hasyim Muzadi has expressed his willingness to be part of a presidential and vice-presidential duet," Mrs Megawati said in a speech to announce her choice of running mate.

PDI-P deputy chairman Roy Janis said the choice was aimed at bringing solid Muslim credentials to Megawati's re-election bid.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, and the NU runs mosques, schools and medical clinics throughout the country.

"Hasyim Muzadi is expected to bring along his supporters from NU. What we have is an ideal combination of nationalist and Islamic," Mr Janis told Reuters news agency.

It is unclear how much influence Mr Muzadi will have over the Muslim electorate. Many NU members remain loyal to Mrs Megawati's predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, who once headed NU.

Mr Wahid - who founded the NU-linked National Awakening Party - has refused to endorse Mr Muzadi's candidacy.

Lagging behind

Despite a joint ticket with Mr Muzadi, many analysts say Mrs Megawati is still not likely to win enough support for another term in office.

Recent opinion polls show she lags behind her former chief security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who resigned last March and heads the small Democrat Party.

Mrs Megawati's party, the Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), lost significant ground in 5 April parliamentary elections.

On Wednesday the Golkar party was declared the official winner of that election, while the PDI-P was forced into second place with only 18.5% of the vote - a drop from the 34% it won in 1999.