PDI-P set for Bali landslide

PDI-P set for Bali landslide

JAKARTA (JP): While the chance of becoming the outright
majority in the House of Representatives has slipped from their
grasp, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) is now seeking to rule the roost in provincial
legislatures.

With 82.90 percent of the vote counted in Bali, PDI Perjuangan
is projected to secure 38 out of 55 provincial legislative seats
after collecting 1,318,643 votes as of Wednesday. The party will
maintain the lion's share of seats when local elections committee
members meet to endorse the poll result on Thursday in Denpasar.

A total of 2,040,297 people went to the polls on June 7. The
provisional required number of votes to win a seat in the
provincial legislature has been set at 34,701.

The ruling party Golkar was a distant second with 10.9 percent
of the vote counted. The figure accounts for five seats,
relegating Golkar from its long-held status as the majority
faction to a tiny group.

The National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party
(PAN) and the Justice and Unity Party (PKP) have yet to meet the
estimated minimum vote requirement, but retain a chance of
securing at least one legislative seat each.

Antara projected that the other 29 parties registered in the
province would leave the contest empty-handed.

The Indonesian Military (TNI), whose members do not vote, is
allocated six seats in Bali.

In Central Java, PDI Perjuangan is expected to clinch 34 out
of 90 seats in the provincial legislature, as the number of votes
counted approached 17 million on Wednesday. There were 18,520,579
registered voters in the province.

The Megawati Soekarnoputri-led party raked up 7,220,961 votes
for provincial legislature, more than 4 million clear of PKB,
which looks certain to obtain at least 13 seats. Golkar was third
with 10 seats, followed by the United Development Party (PPP) and
PAN which could claim eight and five seats respectively.

With TNI allocated nine representatives in the provincial
legislature, 11 more seats are up for grabs in the remaining days
of ballot counting.

PDI Perjuangan will have to be content with 17 out of 55
provincial legislative seats in Yogyakarta, having collected over
600,000 votes as of Thursday afternoon. PAN can expect to win at
least eight seats, PKB seven, Golkar six and PPP two.

TNI has been allotted the remaining nine seats.

Golkar has an excellent prospect of winning most of the seats
left up for grabs, thanks to its huge share of remainder votes.

Yogyakarta elections committee chairman Nur Achmad Affandi
said remainder votes of those five parties, with combined votes
won by eight Muslim-based parties which had agreed to join
forces, would be pooled to find the minimum figure of ballots
required to win one of the nine remaining seats.

In Jakarta, a General Elections Commission (KPU) release put
PDI Perjuangan in command with 1,008,970 votes, well enough to
earn it 15 seats in the city council. PPP and PAN obtained six
seats each, with Golkar three and PKB and PK one each.

A total of 48 parties contested the polls in the capital for
76 seats in the city council. TNI will have nine representatives
in the council.

West Java is another province in which PDI Perjuangan leads
the race for provincial legislative seats. As of Thursday the
party was estimated to secure 19 seats in the provincial
legislature after gaining 5,387,993 votes. Golkar was second with
14 seats, followed by PPP with nine, PKB and PAN with four seats
each, PBB two and the Justice Party one.

With TNI guaranteed 10 seats, 37 more are still on offer until
the local elections committee finishes the count by the Monday
deadline set by the KPU.

Chairman of the provincial elections committee Syahir Ismail
said in Bandung on Thursday only six out of 26 regencies and
mayoralties had completed the count.

There were more than 25 million people registered for the June
7 polls.

Golkar is almost certain a loser in Java, but looked to
maintain its single majority status in South Sulawesi. As of
Thursday, Golkar scooped 2,251,471 votes, guaranteeing the party
44 out of 75 seats in the provincial legislature.

Secretary of the Golkar chapter in the province, Agus Arifin
Nu'mang, told Antara the number of seats would most likely
increase because 16 regencies had not finished count their votes.

More than 4.4 million people were registered for the polls in
South Sulawesi, a traditional Golkar stronghold.

Eight seats have been reserved for TNI in the province.
(43/har/swa/amd)