PDI Perjuangan insists on reelecting Sutiyoso

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction in the Jakarta City Council is moving to ensure its legislators 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 faction 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 faction leaders 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 on the ballot papers."

As an example he said it may instruct its members to write 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.