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Presidential election | ||||||||||||||||
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700 members of the People's Consultative Assembly 351 votes needed to win | ||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 98.71% ( 5.64pp) | |||||||||||||||
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Votes of the People's Consultative Assembly Abdurrahman Wahid: 373 Megawati Sukarnoputri: 313 Invalid/blank: 5 Abstentions: 9 | ||||||||||||||||
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Vice-presidential election | ||||||||||||||||
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700 members of the People's Consultative Assembly 351 votes needed to win | ||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 97.86% ( 2.14pp) | |||||||||||||||
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Votes of the People's Consultative Assembly Megawati Sukarnoputri: 396 Hamzah Haz: 284 Invalid/blank: 5 Abstentions: 15 | ||||||||||||||||
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This article is part of a series on the |
Politics of Indonesia |
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From 20 to 21 October 1999, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the legislative branch of Indonesia, met to elect both the president and vice president of the country for a five-year term. The incumbent president, B. J. Habibie, declined to stand for election. On 20 October, Abdurrahman Wahid, chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama, was elected president and inaugurated on the same day. Wahid's opponent, Megawati Sukarnoputri was subsequently elected vice president the next day. [1] The elections represented the first relatively democratic and peaceful transfer of power in the history of Indonesia. [2]
In October, the People's Consultative Assembly made up of the People's Representative Council and 200 nominated members from the military and selected civilians, a total of 700, met to elect the president and vice president.
There were initially four candidates for the presidency; Abdurrahman Wahid, B. J. Habibie, Megawati Sukarnoputri, and Yusril Ihza Mahendra. However, Habibie refused the nomination from Golkar after his accountability speech was rejected by the MPR the day before election, while Yusril withdrew his candidacy on election day. [3]
On 20 October, PKB chairman Abdurrahman Wahid was elected, beating Megawati Sukarnoputri by 373 votes to 313, although her party (PDI-P) won the most votes in the legislative election and had one-third of the parliamentary seats. This triggered riots among Megawati's supporters. The following day, Megawati was nominated by Gus Dur's party (PKB) as vice president and got elected, beating Hamzah Haz from the PPP by 396 votes to 284. This ended the street protests. [4] [5]
This was the first and only democratically indirect presidential election in Indonesia and the first presidential election that did not feature a candidate from the ruling party (Golkar).
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
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Abdurrahman Wahid | National Awakening Party | 373 | 54.37 | |
Megawati Sukarnoputri | Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle | 313 | 45.63 | |
Total | 686 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 686 | 99.28 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 5 | 0.72 | ||
Total votes | 691 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 700 | 98.71 |
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Megawati Sukarnoputri | Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle | 396 | 58.24 | |
Hamzah Haz | United Development Party | 284 | 41.76 | |
Total | 680 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 680 | 99.27 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 5 | 0.73 | ||
Total votes | 685 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 700 | 97.86 |
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia 2001 to 2004 and the eighth vice president under President Abdurrahman Wahid from 1999 to 2001.
Abdurrahman Wahid, more colloquially known as Gus Dur, was an Indonesian politician and Islamic religious leader who served as the fourth president of Indonesia, from his election in 1999 until he was removed from office in 2001. A long time leader within the Nahdlatul Ulama organization, he was the founder of the National Awakening Party (PKB). He was the son of Minister of Religious Affairs Wahid Hasyim, and the grandson of Nahdatul Ulama founder Hasyim Asy'ari. Due to a visual impairment caused by glaucoma, he was blind in the left eye and partially blind in his right eye. He was the first president of Indonesia to have had physical disabilities. The name Abdurrahman Wahid means "Servant of Mercy the First."
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle is a centre to centre-left secular-nationalist political party in Indonesia. Since 2014, it has been the ruling and largest party in the House of Representatives (DPR), having won 110 seats in the latest election. The party is led by Megawati Sukarnoputri, who served as the president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004.
The Party of Functional Groups, often known by its abbreviation Golkar, is a centre-right big tent secular nationalist political party in Indonesia. Founded in 1964 as the Joint Secretariat of Functional Groups, it is the oldest extant political party in Indonesia. It first participated in national elections in 1971 as Functional Groups. Since 2009, it has been the second-largest party in the House of Representatives (DPR), having won 102 seats in the latest election.
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