Imam Utomo elected East Java governor
Imam Utomo elected East Java governor
SURABAYA (JP): After a controversial nomination process, Maj.
Gen. Imam Utomo Suparno, former chief of the Brawijaya Military
Command overseeing East Java, was elected East Java governor
yesterday, replacing Basofi Soedirman.
Imam, who now sits with the Armed Forces faction in the House
of Representatives, won 65 votes and an overwhelming majority
from the East Java provincial legislature.
His two rivals Syumli Sadli and Bambang Rahino Setokoemo
received 25 and 10 votes respectively.
The election was held under a cloud of controversy as 5,000
demonstrated outside the legislature building.
The gubernatorial nomination process drew speculation that the
election was being rigged in Imam's favor because the Ministry of
Home Affairs insisted on vetting the list of candidates drawn up
by the provincial legislature before the election was held.
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Haris Sudarno and Basofi were dropped from
the initial list of five nominees.
No official explanation was given for the exclusion of the two
men in a Ministry of Home Affairs' letter dated July 30
discussing the candidates for East Java governor.
Sources said the names were crossed out because the Armed
Forces had endorsed Imam Oetomo.
Basofi, a retired Army major general and former Jakarta deputy
governor, will officially end his five-year tenure as governor
here on Aug. 26.
Tight security was put in place while the election was
proceeding. A heavy presence of security officers held back
protesters who approached the legislature building yelling "Hidup
Basofi" (Long Live Basofi) and "Hidup Reformasi" (Long Live
Reforms).
Scuffles broke out when security officers prevented the crowd
from entering the grounds of the legislature building.
No casualties were reported in the incident.
Chief of the Surabaya Military District Col. Bambang Satriawan
said that around 1,000 military and police personnel had been
deployed to safeguard the legislature building.
"We were committed to maintaining security for the election.
We did not want it to be disturbed by violence and riots," he
said.
Basofi, who was present during the election proceedings,
showed no emotion, saying only that he was satisfied with the
election but that it was "up to the people to accept or reject
it."
Imam, who was born in Jombang in 1943, said the issue was not
about who won and who lost, but how best to develop the province
and maintain security during the crisis.
Brewing
Meanwhile in West Nusa Tenggara, local military commander Col.
Soekotjo quickly stamped on mounting speculation that he had a
hand in persuading legislators to pick a certain candidate during
Saturday's gubernatorial election in the province.
In Saturday's election Jakarta Deputy Governor Harun Al Rasjid
gained a majority with 22 votes. The other two candidates,
Mujitahid and H.L. Azhar, received 17 votes and six votes
respectively.
Harun, who hails from the province, will replace the outgoing
Governor Warsito for the 1998/2003 period.
Local ulemas have expressed concern over allegations that
Soekotjo instructed members of the Armed Forces faction in the
provincial legislature to vote for a certain candidate in a
meeting held before the election took place.
"In God's name, I never ordered them to elect a certain
candidate," he said in a press release yesterday.
He admitted meeting with members of the Armed Forces faction
before the election, but claimed that he only asked them to
resist the temptation to accept bribes and to cast their votes
with integrity.
In Yogyakarta, support for Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X
continued to grow as a group of 50 becak (pedicab) drivers went
to the provincial legislature to express their backing for him.
"The Sultan is someone who cares about little people like us,"
said Bowo, one of the becak drivers.
Sri Sultan looks unchallenged in his bid to replace Paku Alam
VIII as governor, despite the provincial United Development Party
faction's plan to nominate one of their own legislators.
Sources told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the provincial
legislature had received no less than 60 letters of support for
Sri Sultan from a number of different societal groups. (nur/44/rms)