PDI, PPP earn more seats

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)