Surabaya poll winners party, losers look to next election

Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

It was party time for the likely winners of the Surabaya mayoral election as dangdut songs blared out all night in the exclusive Graha Sampoerna Indah housing complex in Surabaya.

The householder, Bambang Dwi Hartono, stood up on the stage, giddy with joy. "This is my wife's birthday party as well as a celebration of my victory," he shouted.

The provisional count thus far shows that Bambang and his running mate, Arif Afandi, who were nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), will likely be the city's new mayor and deputy mayor, gaining a total of 492,961 votes to date.

Rival tickets Alisjahbana-Wahyudin Husein received 199,060 votes, Erlangga Satriagung-AH Thony 179,499 votes, and Gatot Sudjito-Benyamin Hilly 89,156 votes.

That night, hundreds of Bambang's supporters, including the members of his campaign committee, arrived at his house in celebratory mood.

"Thank you. Now, let's finish our unfinished work," said Bambang while inviting his guests to partake of dinner, which was laid on in the grounds of the house.

When Bambang and his supporters were partying, the losers had to face the bitter reality that all their hard work had come to naught. Some of them were even considering how they would go about repaying their huge debts.

Gatot Sudjito, deputy chairman of the Golkar Party in East Java, decided to visit his parents' grave with his wife in Krian village, Sidoarjo, rather than watch the end of the count.

"I'll definitely lose so there's no point following the count on the Internet or TV. I'd rather visit my parents' graves to pray," Gatot told The Jakarta Post.

Gone was the smile that he generously flashed to residents and journalists alike during the campaign. Instead, he appeared somewhat confused.

He confessed he had borrowed Rp 200 million (US$22,222) from various sources to support his election bid, which he would now have to repay.

"I've got to pay back the money somehow. I might also try to get a loan from the local Golkar board here," he said.

Losing this time around, however, did not seem to dent his enthusiasm for politics as he expressed a determination to take part in the next mayoral election.

Meanwhile, AH Thony, who was running for deputy mayor as the running mate of Erlangga Satriagung, has decided to spend more time at home in Sidosermo, Surabaya, after losing in the election.

He expressed his disappointment with the electoral system, which he said favored certain candidates by setting Monday, June 27, as polling day and declaring it a public holiday, which resulted in a lower voter turnout as many people decided to leave town for the long weekend.

He also lashed out at the local media for what he claimed was a lack of balance, with some candidates receiving the lion's share of the coverage and others being ignored.

Unlike Gatot, however, Thony was still interested enough to follow the count on the Internet and TV. He said he was resigned to losing, even though he, a former member of PDIP faction on the Surabaya municipal council for the 2001-2004 term, might lose his membership of the PDIP for undermining the party's declared support for the Bambang DH-Arif Affandi ticket.

In standing for election as mayor of Surabaya, Thony was supported by the National Mandate Party (PAN).

"I'm ready to accept it if the party expels me. If it happens, I will then consider joining PAN," said Thony, who has been with the PDIP since 1984.