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)