Marzuki, Fahmi won't be sworn in<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Two dissident politicians from Golkar will not be sworn in as new
\nlegislators on Oct. 1 as the General Elections Commission (KPU)
\nhas written to lame duck President Megawati Soekarnoputri to
\nsuspend their inauguration.<\/p>\n
Responding to a request from Golkar executives who sought the
\ndismissal of Fahmi Idris and Marzuki Darusman from the new House
\nof Representatives, the KPU decided on Thursday to give a
\nrecommendation to the outgoing president to defer the issuance of
\na presidential decree confirming their seats at the House.<\/p>\n
\"Their seats at the House will be frozen pending a
\nclarification to both Pak Marzuki and Pak Fahmi and Golkar's
\nexecutive board on whether the two have indeed breached the party
\nregulations,\" KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti said.<\/p>\n
Ramlan said that the KPU could not just strip the dissident
\npoliticians of their seats at the House before it heard from the
\nconflicting sides.<\/p>\n
Fellow KPU member Mulyana W. Kusumah said Golkar's executive
\nboard had sought the dismissal of Fahmi and Marzuki, but the
\ncommission could not heed the demand given the intricacy of
\nelection regulation.<\/p>\n
\"Article 112 of the Law No. 12\/2003 on legislative elections
\nstipulates that an elected candidate can only be stripped of
\ntheir seats only if she\/he dies or falls short of meeting the
\nrequirements for becoming a House member. We don't believe that
\nMarzuki or Fahmi meet that criteria,\" Mulyana said.<\/p>\n
Fahmi and Marzuki have been expelled from Golkar after defying
\na standing order to support Megawati in the Sept. 20 presidential
\nelection. The leaders of Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI-P) forged a coalition to support her bid
\nin the runoff.<\/p>\n
Instead, Fahmi and a group of nearly a dozen Golkar executives
\nand dozens of regional branches declared their support for Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono and running mate Jusuf Kalla, who have won in a
\ncomprehensive landslide, although neither Megawati nor the
\nelection commission have officially recognized it.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the prospect of a reconciliation between the
\ndissident politicians and Golkar's executive board was dashed on
\nThursday as party leader Akbar Tandjung said that their dismissal
\nwas final.<\/p>\n
\"It (the dismissal) is a final decision. We will bring it up
\nat Golkar's national meeting in December to confirm it,\" Akbar
\nsaid on the sidelines of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
\nAnnual Session.<\/p>\n
Akbar said that a reconciliation was not an option as the case
\nwas closed.<\/p>\n
Fahmi and Marzuki held a meeting on Tuesday with Sultan of
\nYogyakarta Hamengkubuwono X, also a respected figure in Golkar,
\nduring which they asked the Sultan to act as a mediator in
\nresolving their dispute with the executive board.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/marzuki-fahmi-wont-be-sworn-in-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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