President Wahid: Appealed for calm

Several thousand of Mr Wahid's supporters rallied in drenching rain in Jakarta, but pulled back from a planned march to parliament, which is surrounded by razor wire and guarded by thousands of police and troops.

On Sunday, Mr Wahid appealed to his followers not to resort to violence.

But his most radical supporters, who travelled to the capital from East Java, have pledged to fight to death to protect him, raising fears of an outburst of violence if the censure motion is passed.

Opposition united

Opposition politicians say almost all the parties have agreed to pass the second censure motion against Mr Wahid for his alleged part in two financial scandals, involving the misuse of $6m.

Some supporters want to fight a "holy war" for Wahid

The president - who has repeatedly protested his innocence - will then have one month to respond.

If the legislators are not satisfied with Mr Wahid's response, there is likely to be a special session of the highest legislative body, which need only a simple majority to vote the president out of office.

But the BBC's Richard Galpin in Jakarta says Mr Wahid is determined to stay in office - and he has thousands of supporters who are willing to fight a "holy war" for him.

Our correspondent says a pro-Wahid rally held in Jakarta on Sunday was meant as a warning to members of parliament that they are playing with fire by trying to impeach the president.

Many of Wahid's supporters travelled from East Java

Dressed in Muslim white robes and green scarves, some of his supporters were visibly upset at the prospect of Mr Wahid's impeachment.

Quoting from the Koran, the president accused his opponents of trying to oust him illegally.

But, in an emotional address, Mr Wahid urged people not to resort to violence and the event passed off largely peacefully.

The allegations

The president was censured by parliament at the beginning of February.

Mr Wahid has always denied financial wrongdoings in the two scandals that parliament has been investigating.

One of the scandals, dubbed Bulogate, involves the president's personal masseur who allegedly fled with $4m from the national food agency, Bulog.

The other scandal, Bruneigate, refers to an alleged $2m donation from the Sultan of Brunei.