PPI finalizes list of House candidates

PPI finalizes list of House candidates

JAKARTA (JP): The National Elections Committee (PPI) finalized
on Saturday the list of candidates from the 27 provinces to be
sworn in as members of the 1999/2004 House of Representatives.

Some three months after the June 7 general election,
Indonesians will finally be able to put a face to 462 seats which
were up for grabs in the polls.

Candidates from all but four of the 462 seats in the 500-
member legislature have been approved by the committee and are
ready for the swearing-in ceremony scheduled for Oct. 1 to Oct.
3.

The absence of candidate names for the vacant four seats was
due to the fact that central boards of the respective parties had
failed to submit their nominees' names.

The four seats include two seats from the Nahdlatul Ummat
Party (PNU) in the provinces of Lampung and South Kalimantan, one
seat from the Indonesian National Party under the leadership of
Probosutedjo (PNI-Front Marhaenis) in Central Java and one seat
from the Democratic Catholic Party (PKD) in Irian Jaya.

The Committee zipped through the list of candidates for 462
seats in 27 provinces in four days.

Their approval marks an end to the long arduous road filled
with party bickering on the allocation of seats and the decision
on who would represent the country.

Although the names of nearly all the legislators were drawn
up, many problems remained unresolved in the committee's plenary
session held on Saturday.

Committee chairman Jakob Tobing noted that one problem was the
attempt to move top party candidates who did not obtain a seat in
his or her original constituency, to another province where the
party did win a seat.

He drew attention to the case of Probosutedjo, head of PNI-
Front Marhaenis, who registered as a candidate in West Sumatra
but did not win enough votes to win a seat.

Candidates from his party in Central Java then resigned en
masse to allow Probosutedjo, Soeharto's half brother, to stand as
a candidate in a province where the party did win a seat.

When asked on the future status of legislators from East
Timor, Tobing said the committee had decided to continue treating
the province as part of Indonesia until the People's Consultative
Assembly issued a decree separating it from the republic.

The province was allotted four seats, which were shared
equally by the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

Out of the 48 parties who took part in the election, 21
obtained at least one seat in the House.

PDI Perjuangan won 153 seats, the Golkar Party won 120 seats,
the United Development Party (PPP) 58 seats, the National
Awakening Party (PKB) 51 seats, the National Mandate Party (PAN)
34 seats and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) 13 seats.

They were the only six parties which succeeded in passing the
2 percent threshold -- equal to 10 seats -- stipulated in the No.
3/1999 Law on General Elections.

According to that law, only parties which met the threshold
will be allowed to take part in the next general election.

Parties with less than 10 seats included the Justice Party
(PK) with seven seats, the Love the Nation Democratic Party
(PDKB) and the Nahdlatul Ummat Party (PNU) both with five seats
and the Justice and Unity Party (PKP) with four seats.

Some of the smaller parties were able to win a seat for their
secretary-general, but not their chairman.

PKP secretary-general Sutradara Ginting S. won a seat, but his
chairman, Edi Sudrajat, was unsuccessful. Similarly, PNU
secretary-general Ahmad Sjatari will not be accompanied at the
House by chairman Sjukron Ma'mun. (05)