Factions vying for speakership

Factions vying for speakership

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Foot-dragging among political factions in the People's
Consultative Assembly over the mechanism for selecting its
leaders prompted the law-making body on Saturday to extend its
session until Monday.

Assembly members were initially scheduled to elect their
leaders on Saturday, but all that happened was a series of
protracted meetings and intense lobbying after the 124-strong
Regional Representatives Council (DPD) demanded revision of the
Assembly's standing orders as regards the election mechanism.

Claiming they had an equal right to be involved in the
nomination of candidates, the DPD members proposed that both the
House of Representatives and the Council be given the right to
nominate two candidates each, with a vote being held to
ultimately decide on the Assembly leadership.

"We represent 220 million people who directly elected us in
the legislative elections. We, therefore, should have an right to
be involved in selecting our leaders," the new DPD speaker,
Ginandjar Kartasasmita, told reporters on the sidelines of a
consultation meeting between House and DPD leaders.

The Assembly comprises 550 House legislators and 128 DPD
members, who represent the country's 32 provinces.

Under the Assembly's standing orders, which were drafted by
the outgoing Assembly during its last annual session earlier this
week, both the House and the DPD have the right to nominate three
candidates each.

A plenary meeting should then be held to vote on the
speakership, with the three runners-up in the vote taking the
deputy speakerships.

House speaker Agung Laksono said both sides would try to reach
a consensus and avoid going to a vote.

The plenary session finally agreed that Saturday's session
would be devoted to discussions between the two sides, with a
decision on the election mechanism expected to be taken on
Sunday.

"We are confident that we will be able to make a decision on
Sunday and the election for the MPR leaders can be held on
Monday," Agung said.

The DPD proposal has exacerbated the already high tension
among political factions as the scramble to find allies to win
the Assembly leadership.

The Nationhood Coalition, consisting of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party and the
Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) have nominated the PDI-P's Soetjipto
for the Assembly speakership and Theo L. Sambuaga of Golkar as
his deputy.

The United Development Party (PPP), which appears to have
forsaken the coalition, has been left out in the cold by its
erstwhile partners, and joined another political grouping.

The political grouping comprising, among other parties, the
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Democratic Party and National
Awakening Party (PKB), which has been working as a counterweight
to the Nationhood Coalition, has nominated Irwan Prayitno of the
PKS for the Assembly speakership.

The coalition, however, has yet to find two candidates for
nomination, should the current standing orders be maintained.

Aside from extending the length of the session, the Assembly
also decided to recognize nine factions.

The factions are made up of the Golkar Party, PDI-P, PPP,
Democratic Party, National Mandate Party (PAN), PKB, PKS, small
parties under the Democratic Pioneer Stars banner and the DPD.