President Lauds Election Process, Welcomes New MPR Leadership

Tampak Siring, Bali (Antara) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has expressed his appreciation of the process whereby the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) leadership was elected. The election process began on Tuesday and went on till Wednesday morning. "He trusted the mechanism from the beginning and certainly lauded the election process, which finally led to the appointment of Zulkifli Hasan as the new chairman," presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said at the Bali airport on Wednesday. He added that even in the midst of other activities, President Yudhoyono had followed the election process right from the beginning. Regarding the interruptions witnessed during the session, the spokesman noted that Yudhoyono probably considered them part of the dynamic of the system. "What happened should be seen as part of the election process. I think he considered it normal," he stated. When asked about the meeting between the president and Hatta Rajasa, the chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), ahead of the election of Zulkifli Hasan, who was a candidate of the party, the spokesman declined to comment. He pointed out that political communications could have several reasons behind them, but the one in question was certainly not related to the election of MPR leadership. In the election of MPR leadership, Zulkifli Hasan was part of Package B, along with Mahyudin from the Golkar Party, EE Mangindaan from the Democratic Party, Hidayat Nur Wahid from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and Oesman Sapta from the Regional Representatives Council (DPD). (*)