PDI defeat is laughing stock

SEMARANG: About 60 supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri celebrated Thursday the humiliating election defeat of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) under the government-backed leadership of Soerjadi.

Megawati, elected PDI chief in 1993 and overthrown by Soerjadi in a breakaway congress last year, was barred from running in the May 29 election.

Her supporters flocked to the Batang regency PDI office to laugh at Soerjadi's poor performance which gave the party only 11 of the 425 contested House of Representatives seats.

They laughed even louder when their cheer leader said the PDI had "suddenly got an additional seat from nowhere" for the North Sumatra constituency.

They said the "North Sumatra windfall" was a mere trick by an outside force to help Soerjadi's deputy Fatimah Achmad get a seat in the House.

They dispersed without incident, but promised to return with more Megawati supporters to laugh louder. They called on fellow supporters in other regions to do likewise. (har/pan)