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.
One of his priorities, he said, was improving the administration of justice in cases that have come into the public spotlight.
Hatta also promised to improve the quality of MA human resources and thereby the court`s performance. "What we need to uphold at all times is integrity," he said.
In this context , he called on all judges in the country to refrain from deviant behavior and to abide by the judicial code of ethics at all times.
"We will not tolerate judges who do things that are not allowed in the judicial code of ethics and judges` rules of conduct," he said.(*)
HAJM/O001
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
