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.