Count continues in W. Java, incumbent concedes defeat

Yuli Tri Suwarni , The Jakarta Post , Bandung | Tue, 04/15/2008 11:37 AM | Headlines

The final results of the West Java governor race are yet to be released but incumbent Danny Setiawan has already resigned to losing, while Agum Gumelar and his running mate Nu'man Abdul Hakim wait calmly, with early counts indicating a slight victory for Ahmad Heryawan and Dede Yusuf.

Danny, who was paired with Iwan Sulandjana, said he would accept the result and pursue another role if defeated.

"It is no problem if I have to be outside the government. I can do many things outside," he said when asked to comment on the early results here on Monday.

According to initial counts conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), Kompas daily, the Center for Public Policy and Development Studies and the Voters Education for People Network, the so-called Hade pair of Ahmad and Dede won 40 percent of the votes, while Agum grabbed 34 percent and Danny 26 percent.

Danny said he was less than satisfied with the way his campaign team and party coalition worked, especially during the two-week campaign.

He said he had learned a good lesson from the race, that victory depended on three main factors: having the militancy to drive the political engine, a strategy to win the hearts of voters and political programs to improve people's welfare.

Separately, Agum called on all sides to remain calm and wait for the final results of the count by the provincial General Elections Commission (KPUD) to avoid friction among the supporters of different candidates.

"We should not rely on the quick count results but, instead, wait for the final result from the KPUD. No problems will emerge if the final result is similar to the quick counts, but there could be conflict if they do not match and supporters of those predicted to win do not accept and resort to anarchism," he said.

He said he would accept the final result, even if he was defeated.

Of 2.7 million votes processed by the KPUD so far, the Hade pair have won 40.17 percent, Agum almost 34 percent and Danny only 25.8 percent.

"We can not just accept the quick count results because the second pair could take over the lead, since the gap is quite narrow," said KPUD member Ferry Kurnia Rizkiansyah.

Ahmad Heryawan said he would not make any drastic changes affecting officials in the bureaucracy if he was elected to govern the province for the next five years.

"We want to change the bureaucracy's mindset, into true civil servants. They must serve, instead of being served," he said, adding that he would improve communication with the provincial legislative council.

In related developments, the office of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) branch in provincial capital Bandung was pelted with Molotov cocktails, but no casualties were reported in the incident.

The PKS and the National Mandate Party (PAN) nominated Ahmad and Dede in the governor race.

One of three people who threw the Molotov cocktails was caught by civilians and handed over to police for further investigation.

"Two others escaped on their motorcycles," said Arifin Sobari, a PKS councilor at the Bandung regency legislature.

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