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