Anita Rachman, Jakarta – The search for the next head of the Corruption Eradication Commission has taken a distinctly partisan turn even before the House of Representatives has begun screening the two remaining candidates.

On Sunday, lawmakers demanded that human rights lawyer Bambang Widjojanto and Judicial Commission Chairman Busyro Muqqodas sign a promise to probe alleged graft surrounding the 2008 Bank Century bailout.

With the scandal having dominated the agenda of the House in the early part of the year with no clear results, some legislators now want to force it onto the plate of the next antigraft leader.

Syarifuddin Sudding, from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), told the Jakarta Globe that House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, would make "integrity" a key issue when choosing one of the candidates.

However, his definition of integrity was action on Century. "The commission will ask them to sign an integrity pact," Syarifuddin said, adding that the antigraft body, also known as the KPK, could no longer afford to drag its feet on the bailout.

"The [integrity] pact has to do with the Bank Century bailout scandal. They must be committed to resolve this matter within a specified period of time. Our suggestion is within two or three months," Syarifuddin said. "If they refuse to sign, what is the use of choosing either of them?"

On Friday, the selection committee for the KPK chairmanship announced that Bambang, 50, or Busyro, 58, would be recommended by the government to the House to lead the agency. House Commission III would begin the fit-and-proper tests in late September or early October. Pundits praised the candidates, saying neither was likely to bow to political pressure.

Politics, however, were front and center on Sunday as lawmakers sought to revive the Century case, which was earlier used by Hanura, the Golkar Party and others to attack Vice President Boediono and former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who resigned under House pressure and became a managing director at the World Bank.

Analysts believe the Century scandal was used by some politicians to try and derail the government's reform agenda, led by Sri Mulyani.

Bambang Soesatyo from Golkar, a part of the ruling coalition that remains critical of the bailout, said he shared Syarifuddin's sentiments that the Century case was central to the KPK's integrity.

"Candidates who lead the KPK must be ready to die, especially in resolving the Bank Century bailout," Bambang said. "I personally will vote for the candidate who signs the pact."

Gayus Lumbuun, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said he also wanted to pressure the candidates on Century, because the House had concluded its long probe into the scandal with a call for a criminal investigation.

Gayus said the proposed integrity pact should be used as a factor in assessing the candidates, although he added that both men were basically acceptable.