City Council has yet to receive decree on Sutiyoso's installment

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The inauguration of Governor Sutiyoso, which was scheduled for Monday, is still shrouded in uncertainty as the City Council has not yet received the presidential decree on the installment of Sutiyoso for a second five-year term.

As of Thursday evening, city councillors had not yet received invitations to the inauguration ceremony, which usually takes place in the council building on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta.

"I haven't yet received the invitation. That's unusual for a big event such as the inauguration ceremony of the city governor," councillor Abdul Aziz Matnur from the Justice Party told The Jakarta Post.

Aziz said the Ministry of Home Affairs should appoint a caretaker governor if Sutiyoso could not be inaugurated on schedule. There would a vacuum of power if the minister did not appoint a caretaker as Sutiyoso's term was due to expire on Monday, he said.

Sutiyoso and Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo were scheduled to have been inaugurated by Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno.

In past years, the invitation letters were normally sent several days before the event. Besides councillors, former city governors were also invited.

Fearful that demonstrations could occupy the council chamber, the administration suggested that the Jakarta Fair Ground in Kemayoran or the Jakarta Convention Center on Jl. Gatot Subroto could be used as alternative venues for the inauguration ceremony.

Council secretary Moerdiman said that the invitations had not been sent, pending a decision on the venue. A total of 1,000 people are expected to attend.

He also said that the decree on the installment of Sutiyoso and Fauzi had been signed by President Megawati, but up until Thursday, the decree was still at the State Secretariat, which would assign it a decree number.

Demonstrators, including students and activists, earlier rejected the result of the election due to allegations of bribery and irregularities, such as the marking of ballot papers by those supporting Sutiyoso.

On Thursday, a rumor circulated that the box which contained the ballot papers had gone missing or had been intentionally destroyed to make the irregularities more difficult to trace.

Council secretary Moerdiman seemed surprised by the rumor, and denied that the box was missing.

"The box is still here," Moerdiman told reporters, but refused to show the box.

Aziz said the box and the ballot papers were evidential items that had to be kept as they could be used as evidence of the election result.

"The election result could be declared illegal if the box and the ballot papers went missing. The council secretariat would be responsible for that," he said.

Aziz reported the irregularities, including the allegations of money politics during the recent gubernatorial election, to the city police on Tuesday.

Some councillors from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle earlier admitted that they had marked their ballot papers in line with the party's instruction to elect Sutiyoso.

Two failed gubernatorial candidates also reportedly gave cash and cheques to councillors so as to secure their support.

Police have conducted an investigation into the issue but say they have yet to find any evidence of money politics or bribery.