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Jakarta.  Darmin Nasution on Thursday cleared the final hurdle to officially become Bank Indonesia governor in a politically charged House of Representatives plenary session that was marred as two factions walked out.

The People’s Conscience Party (Hanura) left because it never approved Darmin’s candidacy to begin with because of his involvement in the Bank Century bailout, lawmaker Syarifuddin Sudding said.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) walked out because the session did not follow proper procedures, according to Deputy House Speaker Pramono Anung, of the PDI-P.

Lawmakers’ approval was the final step to Darmin’s appointment after he received the House finance commission’s backing last week.

All parties in Commission XI, which oversees finance, approved his appointment, but with nine “binding notes,” one of which stipulated that Darmin resign should he be found guilty in the Bank Century scandal.

His approval by the House on Thursday was expected to go smoothly, before political reality interrupted.

Some lawmakers said approving Darmin would essentially defy the House recommendation over Bank Century in March, which declared the Rp 6.7 trillion ($744 million) bailout illegal and named Darmin as one of the officials responsible.

The Golkar Party’s Bambang Soesatyo said: “Darmin is not only implicated in the Bank Century scandal, but also a few tax-related issues such as the Wilmar restitution case and also Haliburton and Paulus Tumewu.”

As tax director general for the Finance Ministry from 2006 to 2009, Darmin presided over several high-profile tax scandals, including the terminated investigation into real estate tycoon Paulus Tumewu and a fraud allegation involving palm-oil giant Wilmar.

Though the session eventually ended with Darmin’s appointment, but the manner in which it was achieved left some question marks, Pramono said.

“The wrong mechanism in the plenary meeting could become a problem in the future,” he said. “Someone could challenge Darmin’s appointment at the Constitutional Court.”

Seven parties initially wanted Darmin’s appointment confirmed by acclamation, but Hanura and PDI-P successfully argued that voting was necessary. Instead of ending the debate, it opened a new discussion on whether there should be open or secret voting.

One article of the House code says a vote must be held if consensus cannot be reached, while another says the vote must be secret if it relates to an individual.

But before any agreement was reached, House Deputy Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso declared the decision would be made in an open vote, inviting strong protests from the PDI-P and Hanura.

Priyo then suspended the session and summoned party representatives to reach an agreement on the voting mechanism. But Priyo later stuck to his decision to go with open voting.

The PDI-P and Hanura said that open voting in the matter was legally flawed so they would not participate. The parties’ members then walked out.

When the meeting resumed, lawmakers approved Darmin’s appointment by acclamation.

“Approved,” the whole floor screamed, marking the official approval of Darmin.

Despite the controversy, Priyo insisted the proceedings were valid.

“The decision was taken by acclamation by the seven parties that were left,” he said. “Politically, people would see that there was a walkout, but as a plenary session, everything went legitimately.”

The post had been vacant since Vice President Boediono resigned in May 2009 to become President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s running mate in the election. Darmin was named senior deputy governor last July and has been acting governor ever since.

When asked about the walkout, Darmin’s only comment after the session was: “I’m ready to do my job.”