Jakarta – Political parties that supported Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the Sept 20 run-off poll are accusing him of breaching a pre-election agreement.
Insider sources said the Democratic Party, the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) had agreed to two Cabinet posts each if Mr Bambang and his running mate Jusuf Kalla won the election.
"We also agreed the Prosperous Justice Party should have a single post, since they helped us in the second round, while the remainder of the Cabinet posts would be given to professionals," sources told The Jakarta Post.
These parties are now clamouring for more seats after Mr Bambang hinted at giving a prominent Cabinet post to a senior executive of a minor party that had not campaigned for his presidency bid.
Referring to the New Indonesia Alliance Party (PIB), which did not win a seat in the April legislative election, the source said: "We simply cannot understand why this party gets a Cabinet position. Its leaders did nothing in the campaign." The PIB could not be reached for comment.
Mr Bambang has polled nearly 61 per cent of the 91 per cent of votes counted so far. The General Elections Commission is due to announce the final and binding result of the election on October 5, and the new president will be inaugurated on October 20.
Mr Bambang planned to announce his Cabinet on the same day, the Kompas newspaper reported. One of his early apparent Cabinet choices was his opponent's running mate, Muslim cleric Hasyim Muzadi, who told Reuters he had received an offer to become religion minister but turned it down.
According to PBB chairman Yusril Ihza Mahendra, no pre-election deal had been forged with the three parties that supported Mr Bambang's run-off bid.
He said only three people were involved in the initial discussions with the Bambang camp – the two candidates and Mr Yusril himself. "Pak Susilo called it the first shareholders," Mr Yusril said. "But this does not mean we will neglect the others." He added that the Democratic Party, the PBB and the PKPI became involved in discussions only at a later date.
He also said the PBB had yet to begin discussing the Cabinet line-up of the next government, pending the official announcement of the election result.
Meanwhile, a number of leading politicians, such as former cooperatives minister Adi Sasono and National Awakening Party executive Ali Masykur Moesa, said they had received SMS messages offering them Cabinet posts. Mr Bambang rejected the telephone text messages on Saturday as misleading.