Jakarta City Council Expected to Instal Ahok Governor: Speaker

Jakarta (Antara) - Speaker of the Jakarta city Council (DPRD) Prasetyo Edi Marsudi said the Council instead of the Home Affairs Minister should do the installation of care taker governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) as the new governor of the capital city. Prasetyo made the statement amid conflicting arguments with the majority factions in the DPRD opposing the promotion of Ahok to the governorship position. Ahok was vice governor under Governor Joko Widodo, who is now the country's president. A law says that a vice governor will automatically take over the governorship after being left vacant by the governor, but the faction of the coalition led by Gerindra created a controversy by raising contradictory legal argument. Ahok had angered Gerindra after he quit the party in protest of the party policy of favoring indirect election of regional leaders including governors. Ahok and Joko Widodo won the gubernatorial election of Jakarta sponsored by Gerindra and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP). The presidential election pitting PDIP candidate Joko Widodo against Grindra candidate Prabowo Subianto led to the split of the political coalition of the two parties and dispute between Ahok and his former party Gerindra. (*)