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IN DEPTH: The impeachment process
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Tandjung (facing camera) has said Parliament will continue with the impeachment moves
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JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia's parliament is expected to ask the supreme legislature to convene an impeachment hearing against President Abdurrahman Wahid over two financial scandals and his erratic 19-month rule.
Following is a brief rundown of where things stand:
Although the Attorney General has cleared Wahid from any involvement in two financial scandals, which initiated the rebuke, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said Parliament would still seek impeachment because they see the issue as "political" not "legal"
Wahid has formally responded to the first censure, rejecting it as baseless. He only answered the second late on Tuesday in a letter to the House, a move regarded as too little too late
The request for impeachment is just another step in the long and complicated process that could lead to the downfall of Indonesia's first democratically elected president
Local newspapers reported a majority of parliament factions decided late on Tuesday to ask the top legislature, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), to hold a special session and force Wahid to account for his 19-month rule
In their speeches in the plenary session on Wednesday, the two biggest party in parliament, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the Golkar Party, demanded the higher People's Consultative Assembly convene a special session to decide Wahid's fate
Combined, the two parties hold 273 seats in the 500-member parliament, and it is likely the decision will be based on votes
Other parliamentary factions have indicated they would demand the same thing
This is the formal start of an impeachment, but the actual session could take up to two months to convene
The impeachment rules are murky and untested, but most experts believe ousting a president requires a simple majority in the MPR. There is no clear indication of where each party stands on actually impeaching Wahid
Should the MPR, which appoints presidents and vice presidents, reject Wahid's accountability speech, it has the power to revoke his mandate, effectively impeaching him
Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri would likely then replace Wahid until his current term ends in 2004
The MPR also has the power to change the constitution. Under proposals put forward by some MPs, the MPR could strip executive power from Wahid and hand day-to-day control of the nation to Megawati. That would largely leave Wahid as a figurehead
Reuters contributed to this report.
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