Nivell Rayda & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – As the government on Friday announced the two final candidates for the vacant chairmanship of the Corruption Eradication Commission, analysts and antigraft activists voiced worries about the upcoming final selection process in the House of Representatives.

The 13-member committee that selected candidates for the commission, known as the KPK, submitted the names of the two final candidates – lawyer Bambang Widjojanto, 50, and Judicial Commission chairman Busyro Muqoddas, 58 – to the president for approval. The two were selected from seven candidates after a round of final interviews.

If approved, the candidates will face a so-called fit-and-proper test before House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs.

Rocky Gerung, a political analyst at the University of Indonesia, said resistance to the candidates from political parties was inevitable.

"There have been indications from the House that politicians are trying to pick the worst candidate possible in an attempt to weaken the KPK," he told the Jakarta Globe.

"Several lawmakers will also try to get the next KPK chairman in their pocket. So they will try to find a figure that will accommodate their political agenda," Rocky said.

However, Emerson Yuntho, deputy chairman of Indonesia Corruption Watch, said neither candidate was likely to bow to political pressure.

"Bambang is very critical of corruption inside the House, while Busyro has been consistent in his fight against graft in the judiciary system," he said.

Several lawmakers immediately expressed reservations about the two candidates, who both received strong support from antigraft watchdogs.

Fahri Hamzah, a lawmaker from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said he would ask the selection committee to turn over all its documents concerning the two candidates.

"The committee's decision shows irregularities," Fahri said. "These two figures were not the best candidates. Perhaps there were other considerations in naming the two."

Gayus Lumbuun, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said that by law, the House could reject both candidates. He declined, however, to comment on either.

Hasril Hertanto, a legal analyst from the University of Indonesia and chairman of the Indonesian Judicial Watch Society (Mappi), said Gayus's remarks indicated that some lawmakers were intent on weakening the KPK.

The KPK chairman post has been vacant since March, when interim chairman Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean's appointment was annulled.

"The selection committee has done a great job," Hasril told the Globe. "They were very transparent in their process and listened to input from members of society. This could serve as the standard for other selection processes. I don't see any reason why lawmakers would want to reject either candidate. If they do, we can be sure that the rejection is political."

Hasril said that during the final screening, lawmakers might pressure the candidates not to prosecute certain cases – or push the hopefuls to follow up on certain corruption scandals.

Nudirman Munir, from the Golkar Party, confirmed that suspicion. He said his party would push for prosecutions in corruption cases surrounding the Bank Century bailout and the appointment of economist Miranda Goeltom to a senior Bank Indonesia post in 2004.

"These cases will be our main concern during the fit-and-proper test. We won't try to influence the candidates' independence, but their stance on these cases will be the basis for Golkar's decision," he told the Globe.