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)