Govt defiantly installs Sjahroeddin
Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung
Defying the court order, the government pressed ahead with the Lampung gubernatorial revote, which resulted in the victory of Sjahroeddin Z.P. and Syamsuria Ryacudu on Monday.
The winning pair, strongly supported by the faction of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), beat the duo of Oemarsono and Ibrahim B.S, who were supported by the Indonesian military and police faction.
The revote, held under tight security following overnight blast, followed the dismissal of the governor-elect Alzier Dianis Thabrani, which recently was declared illegitimate by the Jakarta Administrative Court.
Alzier was a leader of PDI-P local chapter before he was dismissed for breaching the party's order to support for the reelection of Oemarsono almost two years ago. The governor-elect has been named a suspect in a graft case and university diploma forgery.
The move to elect Sjahroeddin was aimed at boosting Megawati's chance of winning the upcoming presidential election, according to chairman of the PKB's Lampung chapter Safrin Romas.
Out of the 75 councillors of the Lampung Council, 49 councillors voted for pair Sjahroeddin-Syamsuria and 17 others, for Oemarsono-Ibrahim B.S.
Councillor Zainuddin Sembiring from the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction walked out of the revote proceeding, while eight councillors -- six from the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction, one from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and another, from the United Development Party (PPP) faction -- were absent.
The eight councillors reportedly refrained from voting due to their suspicion that the PDI-P had "manipulated and engineered the gubernatorial revote".
Sjahroeddin, a retired police general, once served as operational affairs assistant to the National Police chief. He is the son of former Lampung governor Zainuddin Pagar Alam.
Rumors of money politics and Jakarta intervention were rife after pair Sjahroeddin-Syamsuria won the election, although Syamsuria was dismissed last Friday from the Golkar Party.
Syamsuria, the deputy chairman of Golkar's Lampung chapter and younger brother of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, was dismissed after accepting Sjahroeddin's offer to pair with him for the gubernatorial revote.
The election proceeding held at the Lampung Council went smoothly, although it was marred by rallies both for and against the revote.
Thousands of Alzier's supporters protested outside the council, while thousands of others, who endorsed the election, demonstrated in a nearby field.
A bomb exploded on Sunday night in a park in the compound of the Lampung Council just some 10 hours before the revote. No fatalities were reported.
The incident, however, prompted security personnel to install metal detectors at the doors of the council building, through which only those who had invitations were permitted to enter.
Lampung Police chief Brig. Gen. M.D. Primanto said that he had deployed some 700 personnel to safeguard the election.
The gubernatorial revote was held to seek a replacement for Alzier, who was elected Lampung governor in December 2002. Alzier's victory was annulled by Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno earlier this year, after police brought graft charges against him.
Meanwhile, Alzier claimed the revote was illegal.
Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, Alzier's lawyer, said that he had lodged a protest with the Ministry of Home Affairs and chairwoman of the Lampung Council Nurhasanah. He said the Lampung Council had proceeded with the revote despite the Jakarta Administrative Court's verdict in favor of Alzier, in his lawsuit against the minister. The lawsuit challenged the minister's annulment of Alzier's victory.