Hatta Ali Elected Supreme Court Chairman

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Justices of the Supreme Court (MA) on Wednesday elected  Hatta Ali as their chairman to succeed  Harifin Andi Tumpa who is due to retire in March.

In a vote at a meeting attended by 54 supreme justices, Hatta Ali won  28 votes,  Ahmad Kamil  15 , Abdul Kadir Mappong four,  Paulus E Lotulung one , M Saleh three while three votes were declared  invalid.

The election took place in only one round as Hatta Ali directly gained the support of more than 50 percent of the vote.

"Pak (Mr) Hatta won  50 percent of the vote plus one so that he straightaway won the election." MA Nurhadi, chairman of the election's organizing committee, said after the event on Wednesday.

After winning the election  Hatta Ali was presented with a form declaring his preparedness to accept the post which he promptly signed. He would hold the position from 2022 to 2017.

In his acceptance speech following the election, Hatta promised to continue the ongoing programs carried out by his predecessor and  also the Supreme Court's blueprint for 2010-2035.

"Many  past Supreme Court chairmen have already laid the foundations for the administration of supreme justice as  outlined in the blueprint for 2010-2035. But as the new MA chairman effective March 1, I will , of course, have to implement the  programs according to a scale of priorities," Hatta said.(IGT)