Governors' neutrality questioned
M. Taufiqurrahman and Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta/Jayapura
Despite the assertion by the country's 32 governors that they will stay neutral in the runoff election, an analyst expressed doubts on Sunday that the pledge would have a significant impact on the fairness of the poll.
Sukardi Rinakit of the Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicated (SSS) organization said that what the governors had said was merely a political statement to hide their true intention of backing President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
He said that it had been crystal clear that the governors would support Megawati in her reelection bid as they were mostly members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) or those who had support from the party to thank for their gubernatorial positions.
"Even if the governors are not PDI-P members, they will want to secure their positions by supporting Megawati. They face dire prospects should Megawati fail to get reelected," he told The Jakarta Post.
He said that the governors of provinces outside Java, who were mostly endorsed by the Golkar Party, would also throw their weight behind Megawati, who would likely be supported by the party in the runoff election.
Sukardi said that front-runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would not have much support from the country's governors. "Susilo is not in possession of a strong political base to overpower the Golkar Party and PDI-P, which reign over the bureaucracy," he said.
Sukardi was commenting on the pledge made by the country's 32 governors to maintain neutrality in the poll during the second national meeting of the Association of Provincial Governors(APPSI) in Jayapura, the capital of Papua, over the weekend.
The statement was an apparent move to ward off suggestions that the governors were going all out to support the Megawati- Hasyim ticket.
Apart from the neutrality statement, the governors also pledged to help disseminate information regarding electoral procedures to prevent any possibility of unrest following the poll.
APPSI chairman Fadel Muhammad said governors had were committed to the country's democracy.
"We'd like to show the international community that provincial leaders fully support democracy and want the people to decide," said Fadel, who is also the governor of the new province of Gorontalo.
He denied the suggestions of partiality, saying that Megawati had never ordered the governors to back her candidacy although she could capitalize on her position as the direct superiors of the governors by doing so.
"Neither Ibu Megawati nor Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno have ever asked us to lend our support, and this has encouraged us governors to remain neutral," said Fadel.
He was quick to add that results of the APPSI meeting would be disseminated to mayors and regents in all provinces to ensure that local administrations did their utmost to ensure the success of the election.
Separately, APPSI board of experts chairman Ryaas Rasyid said the meeting was part of the effort to restore the powers of the governors in their jurisdictions. These powers had been reduced by Law No. 22/1999 on local autonomy.
The meeting also produced an agreement to demand that the central government and the House of Representatives review the law as well as Law No. 25/1999 on budgetary arrangements between the central government and local administrations.