Governors' neutrality questioned

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.