Jakarta – Indonesian MPs Monday opened a special session which could impeach President Abdurrahman Wahid, even though he issued a decree disbanding parliament. Following is a chronology of his 21 months in power:

1999

Oct 20: Wahid, a moderate Muslim scholar, is elected president by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), defeating Megawati Sukarnoputri, who is elected vice president the next day

Oct 26: Wahid appoints a 35-member "rainbow" or "unity" cabinet, which later reopens a corruption probe into former president Suharto.

2000

Feb 1: Wahid urges security minister Wiranto to resign over his involvement in East Timor violence, dismissing him 12 days later.

April 24: Wahid orders two of his economic ministers to resign.

July 20: Wahid answers a summons from parliament, but refuses to explain why he fired two ministers in April.

Aug 9: Wahid bows to intense pressure and pledges to hand responsibility for the day-to-day running of the government to Megawati.

Aug 19: The lower house says it will probe two financial scandals dubbed Bulogate and Bruneigate, the latter involving the receipt of a two million dollar gift from the Sultan of Brunei.

Oct 20: Police arrest Wahid's former masseur Alip Agung Suwondo for his alleged role in the Bulogate scandal.

Oct 28: Police clear Wahid of hand in the Bulog scandal.

2001

Jan 30: Parliament committee finds Wahid "may have been" implicated in Bruneigate and Bulogate, but offers no proof. Wahid denies guilt.

Feb 1: Parliament censures Wahid over Bruneigate and Bulogate, gives him three months to reply, or face a second censure.

March 28: Wahid replies to parliament over censure.

April 29: Thousands of Wahid supporters rally in Jakarta and East Java.

April 30: Parliament votes to censure Wahid for a second time.

May 28: Wahid warns of emergency. Attorney general says no evidence against Wahid in two scandals.

May 29: Wahid sends belated censure reply to house. Violent pro-Wahid demonstrations in East Java

May 30: Parliament votes to ask the national assembly to hold an impeachment session. One Wahid loyalist is killed in police shooting in East Java.

May 31: Deputies announce a special impeachment session for August 1 a day after 4,000 of his supporters invade parliament.

June 1: Wahid resuffles cabinet, sacks his top security minister and attorney general and suspends the police chief

June 12: Wahid reshuffles the cabinet, replacing his two most senior economic ministers.

July 3: Attorney General Baharuddin Lopa, the man at the forefront of the battle to save Wahid from impeachment, dies of heart failure

July 6: Wahid again threatens to declare a state of emergency

July 9: Wahid sets a July 20 deadline for compromise after major political parties snub his invitation for talks

July 10: Wahid reshuffles the cabinet for the third time in 40 days.

July 13: Vice President Megawati says impeachment hearing unavoidable. Wahid announces that if no compromise is found, he will declare a state of emergency on July 20, allowing him to dissolve parliament.

July 20: Wahid names a new police chief without parliamentary support and sets a new deadline for ending efforts to impeach him of July 31.

July 21: The MPR summons the president to appear on July 23 to give an account of his 21 months in power.

July 22: Wahid reaffirms that he will not resign and says he considers the MPR session illegal.

July 23: MPs go ahead and open a special impeachment hearing despite a decree from Wahid disbanding parliament.