JP/8/Elect

JP/8/Elect

Bambang Nurbianto
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

The executive board of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) is moving to ensure its councillors on
the Jakarta City Council vote for the controversial incumbent,
Sutiyoso.

Even PDI-Perjuangan's Jakarta chapter chairman Tarmidi
Suhardjo, a candidate for governor, will be monitored to ensure
he votes for his rival.

The board has insisted its 30-member council faction vote for
a voting system where councillors write down the name of their
selected candidate on the ballot paper, rather than crossing one
of a supplied list of names.

Under the writing system the board will be able to determine
who its members voted for as councillors will be able to write
extra words on the voting forms. All voting at the council is
done anonymously but party witnesses will be allowed to check the
ballots.

"As a faction, we have the right to control the loyalty of our
members by ensuring they comply with instructions made by the
party's central board to support Sutiyoso," said Audi I.Z.
Tambunan, an adviser to the PDI Perjuangan faction.

The stance of PDI Perjuangan, the largest party in Indonesia
which swept to power with pledges to reform the corruption-
plagued archipelago, is supported by the former ruling Golkar
Party, the military-police faction and the United Development
Party.

The voting mechanism was rejected by other factions led by the
National Mandate Party, who argued it was less democratic as the
councillors were not free to vote for who they wanted.

The group of legislators proposed a voting mechanism whereby
ballots were crossed or punctured.

Justice Party faction chairman Ahmad Heriyawan said the
writing method would not only be used to control legislators
voting, but also opened the door wide open for money politics.

Though the election committee and council leaders have met
several times to discuss the voting mechanism, they have failed
to reach an agreement. On Friday, the council will hold a plenary
session to decide the issue.

Election committee chairman Muhammad Suwardi said Thursday
that the legislators must vote on the issue during the plenary
session as the factions had insisted on their own positions.

Audi said PDI-Perjuangan would hold a meeting on Friday to
discuss which codes would be written by each member during the
vote.

"Our objective is to ensure the instructions of the party's
central executive board are followed during the reelection of
Sutiyoso. And we believe that we can control the loyalty of the
faction members by using certain codes for the ballot papers,"
Audi added.

As an example he said the board may instruct its members to
write down the words "Om Yos (Uncle Yos)" or "Bang Yos (Brother
Yos)", which both refer to Sutiyoso, on the ballot papers on
election day on Sept. 11.

In a controversial move PDI Perjuangan's executive board
instructed all its members to vote for Sutiyoso, despite Tarmidi
being nominated by the PAN faction.

Recommendations signed by the party's chairwoman, President
Megawati Soekarnoputri, means the board will impose sanctions on
councillors who violate its instructions.

Councillors from the PDI Perjuangan faction are split into two
groups: Those who support Sutiyoso and those who support Tarmidi
whose candidacy was decided during a meeting of the party's
Jakarta's chapter.

The nomination of Sutiyoso has received strong criticism from
the party grassroots, including victims of the July 27, 1996
incident, when a group of military and civilians attacked
Megawati's supporters. Sutiyoso is a suspect in the bloody
incident.

There has also been widespread condemnation from students,
non-governmental organizations and analysts about Sutiyoso's
candidacy.

There are seven pairs of gubernatorial and vice gubernatorial
candidates. Each pair has been approved by Home Affairs Minister
Hari Sabarno on behalf of President Megawati.

The seven pairs are: Sutiyoso-Fauzi Bowo, Tarmidi-Abdillah
Toha, Edy Waluyo-Ahmad Suhaidi, Marzuki Usman-Abdul Halim
Asyhari, Mahfudz Djaelani-Doli Diapary Siregar, Ahmad Heriyawan-
Igo Ilham, and Endang Darmawan-Dadang Hamdani.