A No-contest Election

RIDWAN Bae and I Ketut Sudikerta had to wait outside the entrance to Setya Novanto's villa at Mulia Resort, Nusa Dua Bali last Tuesday. The chairmen of Golkar's Southeast Sulawesi and Bali chapters wanted to meet their host, the incoming Golkar Party chairman. Setya was doing the rounds, greeting all the guests who were paying him a visit. Not all were able to enter, some were forced to queue up outside the villa's entrance. Two people close to Setya, Nurul Arifin and Roem Kono, were acting as visitors' guides.

Yorrys Raweyai was also there, accompanying Setya while various media people interviewed the latter. In his villa, costing Rp250 million a night, Setya was assembling Golkar's core management team. Roem Kono revealed many people had come proposing various names. "That's normal. After he won, of course lots of people will come," the chairman of the Kinship and Mutual Help Council told Tempo.