Editing United Development Party (section)

=== 1988 MPR general session ===
At the 1988 MPR General Session, [[Jailani Naro]], the PPP Chairman, was nominated as vice president. Suharto, who had been elected to the presidency for a fifth term at the aforementioned General Session, intervened. He cited a decision that the MPR made in 1973 that one of the criteria for a vice president was that he should be able to work with the president. Suharto also conducted discussions with Naro and convinced him to withdraw the nomination.

What Naro did was unprecedented as both Suharto and his vice presidents had always been elected unopposed. The problem this time was Suharto's choice for vice president, [[Sudharmono]]. Suharto's choice had caused a rift between him and his most loyal ally, [[Indonesian National Armed Forces|ABRI]]. Many within ABRI did not like Sudharmono because he spent more time behind a desk (Sudharmono was a military attorney) than as a field officer. Seeing a gap to exploit, Naro nominated himself, possibly with the private support of ABRI who, in public, had shown support for Sudharmono.