City Council to vote on choice of speaker

City Council to vote on choice of speaker

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid on
Tuesday said the post of speaker of the Jakarta City Council
would not automatically go to the political party which garnered
the most votes in the elections in the capital.

Syarwan said the next council speaker should be determined by
an election based on the council's existing internal regulations.

"The speaker should be elected by all of the councilors," he
said after attending the council's special plenary session to
commemorate the capital's 472nd anniversary.

Final poll results for the capital have not been announced,
but in the provisional vote count the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) is in the lead.

The party led by Megawati Soekarnoputri, the eldest daughter
of founding president Sukarno, was leading the polls with
1,751,886 votes, followed by the United Development Party (PPP)
with 781,059 votes, the National Mandate Party (PAN) with 738,819
votes and Golkar Party with 462,615 votes.

Based on the provisional results, PDI Perjuangan is projected
to gain 31 of the 85 seats on the council. Nine of the 85 seats
have been allocated to the Indonesian Military (TNI).

According to Azis Boeang from PDI Perjuangan's Jakarta
chapter, his party has already decided on its candidate for the
speaker's post.

"However, we have to first listen to councilors from the other
parties," he said.

He refused to name the party's candidate. However, sources in
the council say that Boeang has been tipped by PDI Perjuangan to
become the next speaker of the council.

According to Boeang, PDI Perjuangan does not want the City
Council to be led by someone from the military.

"The governor is already from the military. So we don't want
the council to also be chaired by someone from TNI," he said.

The current speaker of the council is Edy Waluyo, an active
two-star Army general, while Governor Sutiyoso is an active
three-star Army general.

A number of the current city councilors said on Monday the
next speaker of the council should be elected by council members
rather than simply being appointed by the party which won the
elections in the city.

"The next speaker will depend on the votes of members of the
council," Hizbiyah Rochim of the United Development Party said.

Nitra Arsyad of Golkar Party added: "In my opinion, the
election process for the council speaker should be based on
voting mechanisms which accommodate the parties' voices. I think
that is in line with the reform movement, isn't it?".(ind)