Abdurrahman Wahid, a moderate Muslim politician, was elected president of Indonesia yesterday in the first free-and-contested vote for a leader of the country in 54 years of independence.
The revered but ailing and nearly blind Muslim cleric won the parliamentary vote in the world's largest Islamic nation hours after President B.J. Habibie withdrew from the race.
Habibie had been humiliated by an earlier legislative vote criticizing his 16 months in office since taking over after authoritarian President Suharto was driven out of power.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Wahid won the election by a vote of 373-to-313, with five abstentions.
A third candidate from a small Muslim party pulled out just before voting started and threw his support behind Wahid.
When Wahid defeated pro-democracy opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri in the election, both tried to overcome deep divisions in the country's many activist groups, some of which had threatened violent protests if the election didn't go their way.
But hours later, as Wahid was sworn in as president last night, about 10,000 pro-Megawati protesters remained in the streets of the capital, first clashing with security forces, then setting fire to the massive Jakarta Convention Center.
Police fired tear gas and warning shots to stop the protesters from marching on parliament.
But the demonstrators threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at the security forces. At one point, a car exploded near the protesters, killing at least one person and injuring 18 others.
Earlier yesterday, in Habibie's home province of South Sulawesi, 30,000 people burned tires and chanted pro-Habibie slogans in Ujungpandang after they heard that he had left the race.
"For the unity of the nation, I call on the people of Indonesia to accept the results of the election," Megawati said in parliament after she joined Wahid and hundreds of other legislators in singing the national anthem following the vote.
"Together with Megawati, I celebrate our independence and freedom," said Wahid, 59, better known by his nickname, "Gus Dur."
The two said they would travel outside parliament together and talk to thousands of fervent Megawati supporters who had gathered at Jakarta's main traffic circle for what they hoped would be a celebration of her victory in the election.
Instead, they milled about, some still believing that Megawati had won or would be handed the country's top office by Wahid.
Indonesia's powerful military said it would stand behind Wahid.
Wahid, who has often called for religious and social tolerance in this diverse archipelago of 17,000 islands, said during the campaign that he would continue to introduce democracy and adopt economic reforms sought by the International Monetary Fund as part of its bailout program for the battered economy.
The Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle of Megawati -- the popular daughter of Sukarno, Indonesia's founding father -- had won the most seats in a parliamentary election in June, the country's freest in 44 years.
But no party won a majority. That forced coalition building, and Wahid proved to be more politically savvy than Megawati, a politician not known for her skills as a back room dealmaker.
Habibie exited the picture early yesterday.
"I announce my withdrawal from the presidential nomination, and I believe that many sons and daughters of Indonesia can do the job better than I have done," Habibie said yesterday morning.
"I was satisfied by my term in office. I was given the opportunity to devote myself to this nation," Habibie said.
"I'm happy that democracy has started in Indonesia, and I hope this will continue whoever the new president is."
Shortly after he spoke, assembly speaker Amien Rais announced that Habibie's party, Golkar, had decided not to replace him with another candidate.
In Indonesia's authoritarian past, former dictators Sukarno and Suharto had stood unopposed in presidential elections by their rubber-stamp legislatures.
But things have changed. After midnight Tuesday, the 700-member People's Consultative Assembly voted 355-to-322 to reject Habibie's recent "accountability" speech about his time in office -- a mixed bag of democratic reforms and economic hardship, scandals, protests and violence.
The vote did not require him to pull out from the race, but signaled he had no chance of election.
Habibie was appointed, not elected, president when Suharto was forced to quit after riots and protests in May 1998 after 32 years of iron-fisted rule.
Habibie was a longtime friend and loyal deputy of Suharto. His failure to prosecute the old leader over allegations of massive corruption jeopardized his campaign to stay in power.
Throughout his turbulent tenure, students demanded, in often-violent clashes with security forces, that Habibie step down.
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday decided to shelve proposed legislation that would give elected officials full control over their stipends, saying it would wait for a consensus to be reached before acting. KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) last week proposed amendments to the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) and the Regulations on Allowances for Elected Representatives and Subsidies for Village Chiefs (地方民意代表費用支給及村里長事務補助費補助條例), which would give legislators and councilors the freedom to use their allowances without providing invoices for reimbursement. The proposal immediately drew criticism, amid reports that several legislators face possible charges of embezzling fees intended to pay
REQUIREMENTS: The US defense secretary must submit a Taiwan security assistance road map and an appraisal of Washington’s ability to respond to Indo-Pacific conflict The US Congress has released a new draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes up to US$1 billion in funding for Taiwan-related security cooperation next year. The version published on Sunday by US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson removed earlier language that would have invited Taiwan to participate in the US-led Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC). A statement on Johnson’s Web page said the NDAA “enhances U.S. defense initiatives in the Indo-Pacific to bolster Taiwan’s defense and support Indo-Pacific allies.” The bill would require the US secretary of defense to “enable fielding of uncrewed and anti-uncrewed systems capabilities”
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
RSS