Buleleng regent sanctioned after 45 days of uncertainty
Buleleng regent sanctioned after 45 days of uncertainty
I Wayan Juniartha
The Jakarta Post
SINGARAJA, Bali
Amid a tight security cordon of some 1,500 police officers, the
Buleleng Legislative Council installed on Friday Putu Bagiada and
his running mate Gede Wardhana as regent and vice regent of
Buleleng regency.
The inauguration ceremony put an end to 45 days of political
uncertainty and turmoil, which began on regency election day, May
7, when legislative council speaker Komang Sudharmaja Duniaji
refused to accept the result of the election, and froze the whole
election process over alleged irregularities.
Sudharmaja, who also ran for the post of Buleleng regent along
with running mate Sudiana, and had been fully backed by
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
executives at both provincial and national levels, suffered a
tragic and humiliating defeat at the election.
The pair managed to secure only 18 votes, although PDI
Perjuangan controls 31 seats on the 45-seat legislative council.
Meanwhile, its rival, the Bagiada-Wardhana pair, won 25 votes.
After freezing the election process, Sudharmaja carried out
maneuvers apparently designed to eliminate Bagiada's chances of
becoming the elected regent, including the revelation that
Bagiada was once dismissed from a state-owned bank over alleged
credit manipulation. He also tried to have several PDI Perjuangan
councillors fired, accusing them of having sided with Bagiada's
camp in the election.
However, Friday's council decision to legalize the election
result has clearly shown that most council members have already
had enough of Sudharmaja's maneuvers and are determined to
proceed with the installation ceremony with or without the
consent of council Speaker Sudharmaja.
Friday's session, attended by 29 councillors, including 17
from the PDI Perjuangan faction, was chaired by council deputy
speaker Widnjana Dangin, as Sudharmaja did not show up at the
session.
"The fact that a PDI Perjuangan candidate lost the election
is, in my opinion, not surprising, as there hasn't been a unified
stance over his (Sudharmaja's) candidacy between party members,
either," PDI Perjuangan member Widnjana said after the session.
The division within PDI Perjuangan reflected the growing rift
between Sudharmaja and PDI Perjuangan councillors. Rumors were
rife that the party's councillors planned to unseat Sudharmaja
from the council's leading position.
The situation in and around the Buleleng capital of Singaraja
was relatively normal during and after the council session.
"However, we don't want to take any chances. I've ordered my
men to stay on alert and we'll continue with security
arrangements for several more days, just in case," Buleleng
Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. M. Syafei said.