PDI-P pins poor showing in Jakarta on Governor Sutiyoso

PDI-P pins poor showing in Jakarta on Governor Sutiyoso

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Executives of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have laid some of the blame for the
party's disappointing showing in the city during the April 5
elections on Governor Sutiyoso's aggressive evictions of
squatters.

"We told the Governor to stop the evictions. But he did not
listen ... that is why we think that his actions partly
contributed to our loss of voters," Supangat, a Jakarta city
councillor from the PDI-P, said during a media conference on
Tuesday.

Also attending the conference were the heads of 46 of the
party's subdistrict chapters across the city. They were
discussing why the party was outpolled in the capital by the
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the Democratic Party.

PDI-P Jakarta had predicted it would lose at least 50,000
votes due either to the loss of resident status among party
supporters or a loss of sympathy for the party, which received
the largest number of votes in the 1999 elections.

Made Purnama, head of the party's subdistrict chapter in
Senen, Central Jakarta, questioned Sutiyoso's promise during the
gubernatorial election to woo voters for the PDI-P.

"Sutiyoso promised to help increase the number of votes for
the PDI-P by up to 40 percent in this election in exchange for
our full support when he was contesting the gubernatorial
election in 2002. So, what did we get?" Made said.

He said that at the polling station in Gondangdia, Central
Jakarta, where Sutiyoso and PDI-P leader President Megawati
Soekarnoputri voted, the party did not win the majority of votes.

In throwing their weight behind Sutiyoso in the gubernatorial
election, the PDI-P withdrew its support for one of its own
members, Tarmidi Soehardjo, the City Council deputy chairman at
the time.

Tarmidi was expelled from the party when he insisted on
challenging Sutiyoso, ignoring an order from Megawati to drop out
of the race.

Sutiyoso said earlier that he had no comment on the PDI-P's
failure to win the election in the city.

He said he did not support any political parties, as his job
was to ensure elections in the city took place without incident.

When asked about the possibility of the PKS winning the polls
in Jakarta, Sutiyoso said he had "no problems with that", playing
down the fact that the party's faction in the City Council often
opposed his policies.

"I do not mind any party taking a critical stance against me
as long as it is based on hard facts," Sutiyoso said.