Rusli Zainal wins Riau governorship

Rusli Zainal wins Riau governorship

Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau

Rusli Zainal emerged Tuesday as the new governor of resource-rich
Riau province after defeating three other candidates in an
election.

Rusli, who is a former regent of Indragiri Hilir, paired up
with Wan Abubakar to clinch a landslide victory in a race
described by a local scholar as the "victory of conscience".

Abubakar, the incumbent depute speaker of the Riau legislative
council, will serve as Rusli's deputy following yesterday's
election, which was held during a council plenary session.

The pair, who represent the United Development Party (PPP),
garnered 34 out of a total of 55 votes, way beyond the 19 votes
collected by incumbent Riau governor Saleh Djasit and incumbent
council speaker Chaidir. Saleh and Chaidir were running on the
Golkar ticket.

Golkar was the formidable electoral machine of the autocratic
president Soeharto for three decades before his fall from power
in 1998. The Golkar faction holds the majority on the Riau
legislative council with 15 seats.

Saleh was also contesting the election on another ticket, this
time with Suryadi Kusaini of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) as his running-mate. However, he fared
no better in this guise, and gained only two votes.

Political observer Andi Yusran from the University of Riau
said that the key to Rusli's victory was the legislators'
steadfast determination to listen to their consciences.

"I viewed Rusli's victory as a triumph for the conscience. If
the legislators had obeyed their party's instructions, the
outcome would have been different," he told The Jakarta Post.

Earlier, the head of the PDI Perjuangan's Jakarta-based
executive board, Roy BB Janis, instructed the party faction in
Riau to pick the Saleh Djasit-Suryadi Kusaini team. In defiance
of the instruction, 12 of the PDI Perjuangan votes went to
Rusli's camp.

"I take my hat off to the steadfastness of the legislators in
listening to their consciences. It turned out that the PDI
Perjuangan was not so solid," Andi said.

Asked about the possibility of the legislators being punished
by their party, Andi said he hoped this would not happen.

"Should it happen, it would only destroy freedom of choice. It
is my hope that the party leaders will accept the election result
as an example of democracy in practice," Andi said.

The last pair, T. Lukman Jafaar and Fachruddin Bakar, failed
to win a single vote. No spoiled votes were recorded during the
election.

Djuharman Arifin, who presided over the plenary session, told
the press that the legislative council would convey the election
result to the President through the Ministry of Home Affairs. The
new governor is slated to be installed on Nov. 22, 2003.