City Council approves gubernatorial candidates

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The City Council approved the names of seven pairs of gubernatorial and vice gubernatorial candidates at a plenary session on Monday amid protests by thousands of demonstrators in front of the Council building on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta.

Although a number of interruptions came from United Development Party (PPP) faction councillors during the session, the 85-member council finally managed to approve the seven pairs submitted by the 11 factions.

Muhammad Suwardi, deputy chairman of the City Council, who led the plenary session, said the names of the seven pairs of candidates would be reported to the President via the Minister of Home Affairs before the election on Sept. 11, when each councillor would cast their ballot secretly.

The three strongest pairs are Sutiyoso-Fauzi Bowo, nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Golkar Party and the Unity and Justice Party factions; Tarmidi Suhardjo-Abdillah Toha, the National Mandate Party faction and Edy Waluyo-Ahmad Suaidy, nominated by PPP and the Crescent Star Party faction.

PPP councillors tried to protest the change of candidacy of Fauzi and Abdillah, who were nominated as vice gubernatorial candidates, even though they had earlier registered as gubernatorial candidates.

The protest was a token one, however, as the election procedure does not ban such a change of candidacy.

Meanwhile, two groups of demonstrators from the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) and Betawi People's Group (POB) staged a demonstration outside the council building.

Hundreds of FBR members expressed disappointment over the absence of former minister for women's affairs Tutty Alawiyah in the race while POB supporters gave support to the pair of Sutiyoso-Fauzi Bowo.

Earlier, a number of non-government organizations voiced strong criticism against the nomination of Sutiyoso, who was considered to have failed during his five-year term, but on Monday none of them showed up.