Suharto resigned as President of Indonesia on 21 May 1998 following the collapse of support for his 32-year long presidency. Vice President B. J. Habibie took over the presidency. Suharto's grip on power weakened following severe economic and political crises stemming from the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The economy suffered a flight of foreign capital, leading to a drastic drop in the value of the Indonesian rupiah, which severely impacted the economy and people's livelihoods. Suharto was re-elected to his seventh term by the People's Consultative Assembly in March 1998. Increasing political unrest and violence undermined his previously firm political and military support, leading to his May 1998 resignation. Initially under newly installed President Habibie, a period of political reform ("Reformasi") followed. Historical background Dissent during the New Order Having consolidated the power in 1967 in the aftermath of the attempted coup in 1965 which was launched by middle-ranking officers in the Indonesian army and air force but officially blamed on the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) resulting in purges, the government of Suharto adopted policies that severely restricted civil liberties and instituted a system of rule that effectively split power between the Golkar organisation and the military. In 1970, price rises and corruption prompted student protests and an investigation by a government commission. Suharto responded by banning student protest, forcing the activists underground. Only token prosecution of cases recommended by the commission was pursued. The pattern of co-opting a few of his more powerful opponents while criminalising the rest became a hallmark of Suharto's rule. Suharto stood for election before electoral college votes every five years, beginning in 1973. According to his electoral rules, three entities were allowed to participate in the election: two political parties and Golkar. All other political parties were amalgamated into either the Islam-based United Development Party (PPP) or the nationalist Democratic Party of Indonesia (PDI). Golkar, being Suharto's primary political vehicle, was officially not a political party. All senior civil servants were obliged to join employee associations linked to Golkar, while senior bureaucrats were banned from joining political parties. In a political compromise with the powerful military, Suharto banned its members from voting in elections but set aside seats in the legislature for their representatives. Suharto won every election in which he stood (being 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, and 1998). In May 1980, a group called the Petition of Fifty (Petisi 50) demanded