Surabaya council elects new chairman from PDI-P<\/p>\n
Resi Fadjar Himawanti, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya<\/p>\n
The Surabaya city council on Friday elected a faction member
\nfrom the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
\nas their new chairman, filling the post left vacant when his
\npredecessor from the same faction stepped down over a corruption
\ncase in March.<\/p>\n
Armuji won the election by securing nearly half of the votes
\nfrom the 42 city council members representing four factions.<\/p>\n
Chairing the PDI Perjuangan faction, Armuji won 19 votes to
\nbeat his closest rival from the Golkar party Gatot Sudjito, who
\nhad 12 votes.<\/p>\n
Coming in third was the Indonesian Military and Police faction
\nnominee Pudji Astuti with five votes. Last was Budiharto Tasmo of
\nthe National Awakening faction with four votes.<\/p>\n
Based on the city council's procedures, the nominees of each
\nfaction would automatically obtain the council's deputy seats.<\/p>\n
The National Awakening faction however retained its previous
\ndeputy, Ali Burhan who is in police detention as a suspect in a
\ngraft case. It said Ali's replacement depended on development in
\nthe ongoing investigation against him.<\/p>\n
Friday's election followed the termination of the council's
\nchairmanship on March 31.<\/p>\n
The appointment of a new council speaker may signal the end of
\na long running rift between the council and the city
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
PDI Perjuangan faction member M. Basuki stepped down from the
\ncouncil chairmanship, after police declared him a suspect in a
\nRp 22.5 billion (about US$2.5 million) graft case.<\/p>\n
National Awakening faction nominee Ali was the other suspect.<\/p>\n
Police also named council member Amien Ismail a suspect in a
\nseparate case involving the alleged misuse of Golkar-owned
\nvehicles. Amien chairs the Golkar party chapter in Surabaya.<\/p>\n
The high profile graft cases came in the wake of the council's
\nfailed attempt to oust Surabaya mayor Bambang Dwi Hartono last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Councillors sought to remove the mayor just three days after
\nhe took over the post from Sunarto Sumoprawiro. Sunarto himself
\nwas sacked by the council.<\/p>\n
Mayor Bambang withstood these attempts, partly due to the
\ncentral government's displeasure over the council's aggressive
\nmoves.<\/p>\n
With Bambang's main political foes facing serious legal
\ncharges, his position seems secure for some time.<\/p>\n
Across the country, numerous regional legislatures have been
\nat odds with their local administrations.<\/p>\n
The surge in conflicts followed the implementation of the 1999
\nautonomy laws in 2001. These laws have granted regions greater
\nauthority to manage their own economic and political affairs.<\/p>\n
Councillors may elect and dismiss their governors, regents or
\nmayors, reflecting a major boost of their political clout.<\/p>\n
Newly elected Council Speaker Armuji promised to improve the
\ncouncil's performance.<\/p>\n
His deputy from the joint faction, Gatot, said that purging
\ncorruption from the council should be the priority.<\/p>",
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