Samad won 43 votes out of 56 from members of the House of Representatives` Commission III, defeating present KPK chief Busyro Muqoddas and other candidates.
Before electing the KPK chief, Commission III members elected four new KPK members out of eight candidates, namely Bambang Widjojanto , Abraham Samad, Adnan Pandu Praja and Zulkarnaen who respectively won 55, 55, 51 and 37 votes.
Yunus Husein, Aryanto Sutadi, Abdullah Hehamahua and Handoyo Sudrajat failed to be named KPK members as they respectively obtained only 20, three, two and zero votes.
Commission member Trimedya Panjaitan from the opposition Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP) said Samad`s election was the success of six factions in the House of Representatives in choosing a more neutral figure.
He said Abraham Samad during a fit and proper test expressed strong commitment to eradicating corruption without discrimination.
"He even guaranteed if in a year he did not handle a big case he is ready to resign," he said.
Trimedya said Abraham Samad had a good track record and was still relatively young, namely 46 years old.
In terms of experience, he said, Abraham Samad as a lecturer and a lawyer was not too far below Bambang Widjojanto.
(SYS/H-YH/S012)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
