The first step towards the possible impeachment of President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia came yesterday as the country's parliament voted overwhelmingly to accept a report that he acted improperly in two multi-million dollar scandals. Subsequently, the parliament voted to censure the embattled President.
Tension in Jakarta increased as thousands of anti-Wahid protesters converged on the presidential palace demanding that the President resign.
The parliamentary inquiry linking President Wahid to the so-called "Buloggate" and "Bruneigate" scandals, and alleging he had broken his oath of office, was passed by 393 votes to four.
The President's Nation Awakening Party (PKB) walked out of the parliament chamber before the crucial vote, drawing jeers and shouts from other legislators. PKB has only 51 of parliament's 500 seats and was one of only two parties to stand by the President in the heated debate over his involvement in the financial scandals.
The report was endorsed by all the main parties including the country's Vice-President, Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri, of the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), and the former ruling Golkar party.
Late last night, parliament voted to censure the President. The formal censure, following the endorsement of the report by the vast majority of the 500seat chamber, is seen as the first step towards possible impeachment.
After the parliament decision, protesters using President Wahid's popular nickname, shouted: "Gus Dur resign, Gus Dur resign".
The Justice Minister, Mr Yusril Ihza Mahendra, warned that political tensions could trigger a repeat of the bloody social unrest that toppled President Suharto in 1998.
Mr Wahid has repeatedly declared his innocence of any wrongdoing in the so-called Buloggate and Bruneigate scandals. In the first scandal, people claiming to be acting on behalf of the President, including his masseur, stole $4.1 million from the state commodities regulator, Bulog. In the second, Mr Wahid is alleged to have accepted outside government channels a $2 million donation from the Sultan of Brunei for aid for war-torn Aceh province.