Jakarta, <strong><em>NU Online</em></strong><br /> General Chairman of the Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama KH Hasyim Muzadi said recently that Nahdliyin (NU followers) should not join the `Golput` group because exercising a voting right is an obligatory process.<br /> <br /> "Casting votes in general elections is a process of upholding the power of the state. In this context, it`s obligatory for NU followers to involve themselves in it," Hasyim said.<><br /> <br /> Last month, chairman of the Legal Council of the National Awakening Party (PKB) Abdurrahman Wahid, who is also former president, called on PKB regional branches to boycott the elections next year.<br /> <br /> The reason for the boycott, he said, was that the General Elections Committee (KPU) only recognized the PKB executive board under Muhaimin Iskandar while the one under his leadership was not registered as the legitimate PKB that had the right to nominate would-be candidates.<br /> <br /> While People`s Consultative Assemby (MPR) Chairman Hidayat Nurwahid said the edicts issued by religious organizations like NU that ban its followers from joining groups who refuse to cast their votes (golput) are effective to increase people`s participation in elections, .<br /> <br /> "There have been edicts on `golput` issued by religious organizations such as the one by the Nahdatul Ulama (NU)," Nurwahid told the press at a mosque within the complex of the MPR building here on Friday.<br /> <br /> Nurwahid, who is former president of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said that such edicts were important to make the elections a success.<br /> <br /> The government will organize a legislative and a presidential election next year.<br /> <br /> He said that the people, however, should also be placed in a proportional position because there was also a national figure who called on people not to use their voting rights.<br /> <br /> Nurwahid said that if the people`s participation in the elections was high it would indicate that they had become more mature in exercising their democratic rights.<br /> <br /> Therefore, edicts that called on people to cast their votes were good for democracy, he said adding that they would be effective to challenge the call for elections` boycott. (ant/dar)

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