INDONESIAN PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES THAT HE'S RUNNING

1. (C) SUMMARY: Indonesian President Yudhoyono has
announced that he will run for re-election next year. He
also made comments indicating that he was considering running
again with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, though some say he was
really keeping his options open. Yudhoyono's announcement
that he's throwing his hat into the ring was expected, though
the timing of his announcement surprised some observers. END
SUMMARY.

HE'S RUNNING AGAIN



2. (U) President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared to the
media on September 28 that he would run for re-election next
year. The first round of the presidential election is slated
to take place in July 2009 with another round to follow if
necessary later in the year. Yudhoyono's term is slated to
end in October 2009. In the country's first ever direct vote
for president, he won election to a five-year term in 2004.



3. (C) Although Yudhoyono was expected to run for
re-election, the timing of his announcement, only three days
before the Eid al Fitri holidays and nine months before next
year's elections, took some by surprise. Yudhoyono is
usually seen as somewhat indecisive, so the sudden
announcement seemed out of character. Some observers thought
he would wait several months more before making the
announcement.

RUNNING WITH CURRENT VP?



4. (C) In other remarks to the press, Yudhoyono also
indicated that it was "highly possible" that he would run
with Vice President Jusuf Kalla. Some observers thought that
his comments were a positive indication that he was planning
to team up again with Kalla, though the two have had problems
at times in their relationship. Others saw the remarks more
as an astute political move to try to suppress Kalla's own
presidential ambitions and keep Golkar, the largest party,
aligned with Yudhoyono's PD (Democratic Party). (Note:
Kalla also serves as chair of the Golkar Party.) Dino Patti
Djalal, presidential advisor and spokesperson, told the DCM
on October 1 that the President's remarks were a
none-too-veiled warning to Kalla that he had other options
for vice president if necessary.

MOVE WAS EXPECTED



5. (C) Yudhoyono's announcement that he's throwing his hat
into the ring was expected. No one has ever doubted that he
would run next year. As noted, there were some questions as
to the timing with some observers thinking that he had really
planned to make the announcement later, but perhaps had been
rushed into doing it now. While Yudhoyono has made his
intentions clear, he will almost certainly make an official
announcement of his candidacy later with all the attendant
bells and whistles.



6. (C) Many of the President's opponents have already
announced that they are running, including former president
Megawati. At this point, he is running neck-and-neck with
Megawati in the polls and perhaps felt he had to get his
campaign engines moving right away, hence the announcement.
Re Kalla, it will probably take some time for the President
to decide what to do. The national legislative elections
take place in April 2009 and it is possible that the various
presidential tickets will only fully gel after the parties
have been tested in those polls.

HUME