City Council vote to be private<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
In compliance with an existing standing order, the City Council
\nwill sit in closed-door session on Friday morning to elect its
\nnew speaker for the 2004-2009 term, despite suggestions by some
\nmembers that a more transparent process be adopted.<\/p>\n
\"Personally, I would prefer a public session to ensure
\nfairness. But, since the standing orders are there, we have no
\nchoice but to comply with them,\" said Ahmad Heryawan of the
\ncouncil's largest faction, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).<\/p>\n
He was referring to Article 57 of Law No. 22\/2003 on the
\norganizational structure of local legislative councils, which
\nstipulates that the election of a council speaker should be
\ncarried out in accordance with the council's standing orders.<\/p>\n
Article 101 of the standing orders states that any session
\nheld to elect an officeholder must be held in camera. By
\ncomparison, a session held to vote on an institutional matter may
\nbe held in public, he added.<\/p>\n
Heryawan and Ade Surapriatna of the Golkar Party faction are
\nbeing touted as the front runners to secure the speakership.<\/p>\n
The race for the speakership race is set to be tight as, on
\npaper at least, nine of the 11 factions on the council have
\ndivided up into two alliances to support one or the other of the
\ntwo front runners.<\/p>\n
On paper, Heryawan has the votes of at least 38 of the total
\n71 members of the council, with support coming from an alliance
\nof the PKS, Democratic Party and National Mandate Party (PAN)
\nfactions. Meanwhile, Ade has 33 votes from the Nationhood
\nCoalition, which comprises the Golkar Party, Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Prosperous Peace Party,
\nReform Star Party (PBR) and National Awakening Party (PKB)
\nfactions.<\/p>\n
Ade, who has been in a councillor for the last 20 years, and
\nis also the richest councillor according to the Public Servants
\nWealth Audit Commission (KPKPN), expressed optimism that he could
\nbeat Heryawan.<\/p>\n
\"We have a solid coalition ... not to mention that some votes
\nfrom PAN will come to me,\" he asserted.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the PDI-P and the Democratic Party factions have
\nseparately nominated their own candidates: Maringan Pangaribuan
\nand Ilal Ferhard respectively. Previously, the Democratic Party
\nhad nominated Abdul Muthalib Shihab.<\/p>\n
\"But, we decided to replace him with Ilal, partly due to his
\ncommunications skills. Jakarta, as the country's capital, needs a
\nperson who is familiar with international relations,\" said Johny
\nWenas Polii of the Democratic Party faction.<\/p>\n
Ilal graduated from a university in the United States of
\nAmerica.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Governor Sutiyoso said his administration would
\nwelcome the results of the election, whoever won.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that they can improve their performance, including
\narriving on time for hearings.\"<\/p>\n
He has repeatedly complained about the council's poor
\nproductivity.<\/p>\n
The previous council had left itself with more than 10 bylaws
\nto pass in the month before its term ended in August.<\/p>\n
.pl
\n.rm<\/p>\n
I-Box<\/p>\n
Declared assets of speakership candidates<\/p>\n
Ahmad Heryawan<\/p>\n
Fixed assets: Land and buildings -- Rp 60 million
\nTransferable assets: Vehicles, home appliances, etc.-- Rp 94.5 million
\nAccounts receivable: Rp 14 million + US$ 1,900
\nTotal assets: Rp 387 million and $1,900<\/p>\n
Ade Surapriatna<\/p>\n
Fixed assets: Land and buildings -- Rp 3.52 billion
\nTransferable assets: Vehicles, home appliances, etc. -- Rp 2.27 billion
\nTotal assets: Rp 5.793 billion<\/p>\n
Source: The Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-council-vote-to-be-private-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }