Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – An ongoing dispute between the Papuan Legislative Council and the Papuan chapter of the General Elections Commission (KPUD Papua) over procedures in the handover of election results has delayed indefinitely the inauguration of the governor-elect Barnabar Suebu.

KPUD representatives say they have handed over the election results, whereas legislators assert that the handover was not conducted in line with existing procedures.

Yan Ayomi, head of the legislative council's election committee, said Friday that the legislature would not be able to hold a special plenary session to set the date for the inauguration of the governor-elect and submit a recommendation to the home minister.

"If the document has not been submitted formally, how can the legislature process it?" asked Ayomi, who is also the head of the Papuan chapter of Golkar Party.

According to Ayomi, KPUD Papua should have handed over the document in a committee meeting or a special plenary session, not to an individual legislator.

"KPUD Papua should have given the document to the election committee, which would later invite other councillors to a plenary meeting before making a proposal to the home minister," Ayomi said.

Commenting on a letter sent to the home minister by the council deputy chairman Komaruddin Watubun on June 6 proposing the inauguration of the governor-elect, Ayomi said that it was not in line with procedures and was therefore invalid. A day earlier council chairman John Ibo sent a letter to the home minister to annul the letter sent by Komaruddin.

Meanwhile, KPUD Papua refused to accept that the handover of the results of KPUD's plenary session on June 1 2006 to the council had been declared invalid.

"We have done it in line with existing procedures. There is no rule that the results of the KPUD plenary session have to be handed over in a council plenary session or the special regional election committee meeting. What is clear is that the KPUD has to hand over its results three days after the plenary session and we've done it," Yohanis G Bonay, a KPUD Papua member, said.

As KPUD Papua has handed over the results of its plenary session, the council should have responded to it," Bonay said.

Amid the uncertainty, the Papuan provincial administration has set up a committee, led by provincial secretary-general Andi Balo Bassaleng, to carry out the inauguration ceremony.

In a related development Papuan governor-elect Suebu's lawsuit for defamation against DPRP chairman John Ibo has entered the trial stage at the Jayapura District Court. Previously Suebu had claimed damages of Rp 150 billion (US$15,789) from John Ibo, while John Ibo in turn filed a counter suit against Suebu, demanding Rp 1.4 trillion in damages.

Papuan Police have responded to a defamation complaint filed by Suebu against John Ibo by questioning a number of witnesses, while John Ibo has reported Suebu to the National Police Headquarters on charges of using fake documents.

A member of the Papuan working group in Jakarta, Frans Maniagasi said the delay in the inauguration of the Papuan governor-elect would be unfavorable for the Papuan people and hoped that the new governor would be installed before the visit of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Papua on July 26.

The home minister's letter to the Papuan Legislative Council questioning the confusion over the inauguration date of the governor-elect, Frans said, should have been responded to with a plenary session, and not by blaming KPUD Papua.

"The results of KPUD Papua are already in the hands of the legislative council and the council should have followed it up," Frans asserted.

Frans further urged the council to stop all the fuss, saying that if the council did not make a proposal for the inauguration of the governor-elect to the home minister, the Papuan people would.

"The legislators are representatives chosen by the people, while the governor was directly elected by the people. So as the people's representatives the legislature should implement the people's mandate by making a proposal for the inauguration of the governor-elect," he reiterated.