Megawati urged to abandon Sutiyoso<\/p>\n
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
An activist has strongly urged President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nto withdraw her support from the nomination of incumbent Governor
\nSutiyoso for another term in office to win back her supporters at
\nthe grassroots level.<\/p>\n
\"This is the right moment for Megawati to withdraw her
\nsupport. That way she can win back her followers,\" the chairman
\nof the Jakarta Residents Forum (FAKTA), Azas Tigor Nainggolan,
\nsaid on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"Continuing to support Sutiyoso would only jeopardize her
\nparty's chances in the 2004 general election,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Tigor said that Megawati needed Sutiyoso's help to keep her
\nposition in power as he had the support of many business links
\nand capital owners.<\/p>\n
Many of Megawati's followers have protested her support of
\nSutiyoso's nomination, not only because of his poor performance
\nas a governor, but especially since he is a former military
\ncommander who was named as one of the suspects in the July 27,
\n1996 tragedy. Five people were killed, hundreds were injured and
\nseveral went missing, while 124 of Megawati's supporters were
\narrested during the attack on the headquarters of the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party.<\/p>\n
The City Council's election committee will put forward the
\nnames of seven candidates for Megawati's approval some time this
\nweek before the election, which is scheduled for Sept. 11.<\/p>\n
Tigor questioned the council's obligations to consult the
\nPresident on the candidates despite the implementation of
\nregional autonomy.<\/p>\n
\"The problem arose because there has been intervention from
\nthe central government. It will be more difficult for Jakarta to
\ndevelop further because we all know that Sutiyoso failed in his
\nfirst tenure.\"<\/p>\n
Political observer Andi Alfian Mallarangeng said the
\nconsultation was needed concerning the governor's status as a
\nrepresentative of the central government.<\/p>\n
\"The consultation will only focus on administrative affairs.\"<\/p>\n
He said Megawati could drop Sutiyoso's name from the
\ncandidate's list because he was a suspect in the July 27
\nincident.<\/p>\n
He said she had the authority to eliminate any candidates if
\nthey were involved or even suspected to have been involved in any
\nacts of treason or serious legal violations.<\/p>\n
The gubernatorial election will have only one round as long as
\na candidate gets a single majority vote of 50 percent plus one.
\nOtherwise, there will be stages to reduce the number of
\ncandidates to five and two respectively.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawati-urged-to-abandon-sutiyoso-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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