Abdul Gafur elected North Maluku governor<\/p>\n
TERNATE, North Maluku(JP): Former state minister of sports and
\nyouth affairs Abdul Gafur and his running mate Yamin Tawari were
\nelected respectively the first ever North Maluku governor and
\ndeputy governor during a plenary session of the North Maluku
\nlegislative assembly on Thursday, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
Their terms of office are to run until 2006.<\/p>\n
Representing the Golkar faction, Gafur and Yamin won 23 votes,
\nenough to beat the duo of Thaib Armain and Yamin Walsaleh from
\nthe Reform faction by just three votes.<\/p>\n
Gafur was a minister during the regime of former president
\nSoeharto and later served as deputy speaker of the House of
\nRepresentatives from 1997 to 1999.<\/p>\n
Thursday's session was led by assembly speaker Rustam Conoras
\nand was also attended by acting North Maluku governor Brig. Gen.
\n(ret.) Muhyi Effendie.<\/p>\n
The election debate, which started at around 9:30 a.m. and
\nlasted five hours, took place under tight security following
\nrumors that riots might erupt following the election.<\/p>\n
However, as of Thursday afternoon, all was quiet in the
\ncapital of North Maluku.<\/p>\n
Despite the semblance of calm, local residents chose to stay
\nat home. A number of government offices were also closed.<\/p>\n
Business in the traditional markets was quiet with few shops
\nopen, while the streets were deserted.<\/p>\n
Communal clashes between Christians and Muslims shook the
\nprovince in 1999 as a spill-over from the bloody conflict in
\nneighboring Maluku province. (emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/abdul-gafur-elected-north-maluku-governor-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}