Critic Drops Out In Indonesia Vote

Behind-the-scenes maneuvering heated up Friday in the aftermath of Indonesia’s parliamentary election, even though a final vote count remained more than a week away.

With only 20 percent of the ballots tabulated, Amien Rais, a vocal critic of former authoritarian President Suharto, became the first national figure to concede defeat, four days after the election.

An official of his National Mandate Party denied any coalition deal with President B.J. Habibie’s ruling Golkar Party.