JAKARTA, May 11 (UPI) -- A former Indonesian armed forces commander indicted for war crimes Tuesday picked a human rights activist as his running mate in July presidential elections.
Retired general Wiranto, indicted for war crimes in East Timor, confirmed that Solahuddin Wahid, the deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights, will run for the vice presidency on the Golkar party ticket in the July election.
Wahid is the younger brother of a former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid.
Also on Tuesday, incumbent vice president Hamzah Haz joined the presidential race, choosing the transport minister, retired army general Agum Gumelar as his running-mate.
At a ceremony to officially launch his candidacy, Wiranto again dismissed the arrest warrant issued against him, calling it a politically motivated "character assassination."
Wiranto will compete with incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri and another retired general, Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono, who -- according to recent opinion polls -- always ranks first.
The direct presidential ballot -- the first in Indonesian history -- is scheduled for July 5. A runoff is set for Sept. 20 if no president and vice presidential candidate wins more than 50 percent of the votes on July 5.
