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Early wins in N. Sumatra, Java buoy PKS
MAKE IT COUNT: An election committee member counts ballots at a polling station in Patisan Tengah subdistrict in Medan, North Sumatra
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MAKE IT COUNT: An election committee member counts ballots at a polling station in Patisan Tengah subdistrict in Medan, North Sumatra. About 60 percent of some 8.5 million registered voters cast ballots in Wednesday's gubernatorial election. (JP/Apriadi)The candidate from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and 10 other parties is leading early counts in North Sumatra's first-ever direct gubernatorial election, building party confidence about polls in other provinces and next year's general election.
A quick count on Wednesday by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) showed Syamsul Arifin, formerly the Langkat regent, and his running mate Gatot Pujo Nugroho leading with 27.67 percent of the vote.
A candidate only needs 25 percent of the vote to win a regional election, according to Law No. 32/2004 on regional administration.
While the provincial General Elections Commission will only start tallies Thursday, the PKS' jubilant leaders were buoyed late Wednesday by the preliminary results in North Sumatra and West Java. They credited the results to their party, though the candidates were nominated by a coalition.
In the West Java gubernatorial election held Sunday, PKS and National Mandate Party (PAN) candidate Ahmad Heryawan is leading with 40 percent of the vote.
"Alhamdullilah (praise God), this really lifts the spirits of our members," said South Sumatra PKS chairman Yuswar Hidayatullah, detik.com news portal reported. The province holds its direct gubernatorial election on May 4.
PKS leader Tifatul Sembiring was quoted by the news portal as saying the preliminary results would hopefully "increase our votes in the 2009 election".
The party has won 88 out of 149 regional and provincial elections, Tifatul noted, adding that West Java and North Sumatra were among the country's largest provinces.
However the head of the LSI, Denny JA, said Syamsul and Gatot "would face great challenges" if they became governor and deputy governor of North Sumatra with barely 30 percent of the vote.
The figure for the winning candidates is lower than that of other provincial and regional elections, Denny said Wednesday, as quoted by Antara news agency.
He said turnout in North Sumatra's election was low, with 57.77 percent of some eight million registered voters across 28 regencies and municipalities casting ballots.
"We don't know yet why people were not enthusiastic," Denny said.
The turnout is the lowest so far in the country's regional and provincial elections, he added.
Candidate Tri Tamtomo and his running mate, Sahala Benny Pasaribu, were second in the quick count with 22.35 percent of the vote. The pair were nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP).
That party, led by former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, is hoping to improve its numbers in the ongoing vote count in West Java's gubernatorial election, where its candidate Agum Gumelar is still running a close second with 35.5 percent of the vote.
According to LSI's quick count from the North Sumatra polls, the pair of Abdul Wahab Dalimunthe and Muhammad Raden Syafi'i are in third with 17.22 percent. They were nominated jointly by the Democratic Party, PAN and the Reformed Star Party.
Robert Edison Siahaan and Suherdi trail in fourth with 16.51 percent of votes. The pair were nominated by a coalition of eight minority parties.
The candidates of the former ruling party Golkar are last in the quick count, with Ali Umri and running mate Maratua Simanjuntak gaining just 16.26 percent of ballots cast.
