Megawati elected vice president of Indonesia

Megawati

Victory expected to calm angry protests

October 21, 1999
Web posted at: 9:08 p.m. HKT (1308 GMT)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Megawati Sukarnoputri was elected vice president of Indonesia Thursday, a day after her surprising loss in the presidential vote to Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid.

"I am very grateful of what has been achieved," Megawati said in tears after the result was announced. "Certainly my first step is to give the best thing to the Indonesian people."

The People's Consultative Assembly easily elected the daughter of Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno, to the No. 2 post behind Wahid -- a position with added importance because of Wahid's frail health. Megawati took 396 of the 700 votes in the assembly, topping Muslim-oriented United Development Party's Hamzah Haz by 112 votes.

Wahid won Wednesday's presidential election by 60 votes over Megawati, who had been the popular favorite to replace the Golkar Party's B.J. Habibie.

Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle holds the largest voting bloc in the assembly, but she was unable to put together enough votes for a majority. Wahid's win set off riots in the streets of Jakarta, where thousands of Megawati's supporters had gathered expecting to celebrate her victory.

Her election to the vice-presidency was expected to quell the violence.

Habibie withdrew from the presidential election after the assembly narrowly rejected his assessment of the successes and failures of his 16-month administration. Habibie became president after longtime dictator Sukarno resigned amid massive public protests against his long rule.

Wahid pushes for unity

The day began with four candidates -- Haz, armed forces chief General Wiranto, Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tanjung, and Megawati, nominated by Wahid's National Awakening Party.

Wiranto and Tanjung withdrew minutes before the voting began.

Megawati became the favorite for vice president after her loss Wednesday, which came in part because of a Muslim backlash against the idea of a woman president as well as concerns that as a political novice she would be an ineffective ruler.

But Wahid, a moderate Muslim cleric who stressed unity and quoted Megawati's father in his inaugural address, had been widely expected to nominate her for the post.

Many people believe that the 59-year-old Wahid, who has had two strokes in recent years and is nearly blind, will not complete his five-year term. Megawati would succeed him.

The capital was mostly calm Thursday as the legislators met. But fresh violence erupted ahead of the vote on the main tourist island of Bali, as hundreds of pro-Megawati protesters cut down trees and burned tires as roadblocks in the city of Denpasar.

"The streets are totally paralyzed since many people are on the streets and put up roadblocks," one witness said.

There were no immediate reports of looting or violence, and it appeared that the main tourist resorts at beaches outside the city were not affected.

Jakarta Bureau Chief Maria Ressa and Correspondent Marina Kamimura contributed to this report.