Page 259 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE
IN INDONESIA

This decree was then referred to as the Presidential Decree, which con-
tained the President’s desire to save the country and the nation by taking
a number of steps, including freezing the MPR and DPR, returning sov-
ereignty to the people, as well as taking action and compiling the neces-
sary bodies to hold general elections within one year.

President Abdurrahman Wahid’s action in issuing a decree instead of
complying with the MPR’s invitation led to the holding of the MPR Spe-
cial Session, which was held on 23 July 2001. The Special Session which
was attended by 601 MPR members and 599 members from 9 factions
rejected the Presidential Decree. The MPR firmly stated that the Decree
of 23 July 2001 was invalid because it was against the law and had no
legal force.

The MPR Special Session continued with a vote and ended with the im-
peachment of Abdurrahman Wahid. The MPR in the same session then
appointed the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Megawati
Soekarnoputri as President of the Republic of Indonesia.

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