Camelia Pasandaran, Bandung – Many of the nation's governors have agreed that the people shouldn't get the chance to vote them into – or out of – office, saying regional legislators should decide who occupies the posts.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo, who presided over a meeting of the Association of Provincial Administrations (APPI) on Thursday, reported that of the 22 governors attending, most held the opinion that their positions should be filled by appointment from local lawmakers, and not by direct election.

Deputy governors and provincial secretaries represented the other 11 provinces.

Early in the reform era, governors were appointed by local legislators. But the 2004 Regional Governance Law, passed to encourage decentralization, mandated direct regional elections. Governors, district heads and mayors are now all elected by public vote, but budget strains, vote buying and legal disputes remain major problems.

"Most of the governors here believe that democratic elections could be done via the legislative council. It has become a matter of efficiency," Fauzi said. The governors only expressed this opinion through a discourse. There has been no official vote.

A push by some members of the House of Representatives to do away with direct regional elections was exacerbated recently by the open question of Yogyakarta's regional officials, who have traditionally been appointed by the sultan of the special province, who himself has a hereditary right to governor's seat.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday that direct elections were good for Indonesia, but also brought problems. "We are discussing the possibility of using direct elections only for the presidential and vice presidential elections, as well as for district and deputy district heads. For governors, it would not be by direct election. But this is just talk so far," he said.

The other alternative, according to political experts, is to retain direct elections but simplify the system.

The governors also voted to give themselves the authority to sanction regional and district heads who did not comply with central government policies. Until Thursday's meeting, only the courts could compel districts or cities to enact, for example, the government's poverty-reduction programs.