PDI, PPP earn more seats

MEDAN: The United Development Party's (PPP) and Indonesian Democratic Party's (PDI) North Sumatra chapters earned one more seat each in the provincial legislative council when the election results were endorsed here Tuesday.

The deputy chairman of the province's election committee, Piter Sibarani, on behalf of ailing chairman Raja Inal Siregar, announced the final results.

PPP won six seats, PDI three seats and dominant party, Golkar, a whopping 34 seats.

The Armed Forces, whose members do not vote, had been given 11 seats.

Sibarani said two seats were left after the first counting in Tuesday's meeting.

As there was no vote trade-off deal among the three party chapters, the meeting agreed to PDI and PPP sharing the remaining seats because they had more leftover votes than Golkar. These are votes the parties received but were not enough to win them a seat.

The PDI had 104,021 of these votes, the PPP 84,229, and Golkar 80,521.

PPP's chapter chief, Hasrul Azwar, alleged that irregularities took place during vote counting and said the chapter would seek a legal settlement.

"It was wisdom that led us to approve the results. We place the national interest above other things," Azwar said.

His PDI counterpart Patawi Bowie welcomed the results, but could not avoid lodging a complaint over alleged electoral violations.

He said 81 PDI scrutineers were barred from their polling booths in Percut Sei Tuan district in Deli Serdang. (21/amd)