PKS steps up pressure on ruling over Depok poll<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta\/Bandung<\/p>\n
Over 2,000 members of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) took to
\nthe streets in Bandung on Friday, protesting a court ruling that
\ndeclared the Golkar Party candidate Badrul Kamal the winner of
\nthe Depok election.<\/p>\n
The pressure against the ruling is expected to increase in the
\ncoming days with the Joint Forum for the Depok Community, a group
\nthat supports the PKS candidate Nur Mahmudi, vowed to stage
\nanother massive protest on Saturday in Depok.<\/p>\n
During Friday's protest, the PKS supporters gathered in front
\nof the office of West Java Governor and West Java High Court,
\nwhich handed down a verdict that dashed the hopes of the PKS-
\nbacked mayoral candidate Nur Mahmudi Ismail and his running mate
\nYuyun Wirasaputra.<\/p>\n
In addition to expressing resentment over the court ruling,
\nthe angry protesters also demanded that the Minister of Home
\nAffairs delay the inauguration of the Golkar candidate, pending a
\nfinal and binding settlement of the case. The protesters said
\nthey were upset as the High Court made its decision based on the
\ntestimonies of just 11 witnesses presented by the Badrul camp.
\nOnly one witness was called from the Depok KPUD, while none were
\nfrom the Nur Mahmudi camp or the PKS, fueling suspicion that the
\n11 witnesses testified in favor of Badrul.<\/p>\n
The protesters further argued that the verdict should have
\nbeen based on more concrete evidence. The result of the June 26
\nelection was authorized by the Depok General Election Commission
\n(KPUD), and their decision was endorsed by five witnesses
\nobserving the election.<\/p>\n
\"The verdict was controversial and did not make sense. We
\ndemand the Supreme Court annul the High Court's verdict,\" said
\nAchmad Ru'yat, a PKS councillor participating in the protest.<\/p>\n
Responding to the protest, chief of the West Java High Court
\nNana Juwana told the crowd of protesters that the decision was
\nfinal as the testimonies from the witnesses were not opposed by
\nthe defendant's lawyers.<\/p>\n
The West Java High Court found that the votes for Nur Mahmudi
\nhad been inflated by 27,782 votes, while Badrul's votes were
\nlessened by 62,770 votes.<\/p>\n
Following the findings, the panel of five judges decided to
\nadd the 62,770 votes to Badrul's total bringing it to 269,551. In
\naddition, the votes for Nur Mahmudi were reduced to 204,828 after
\nthe adjustment.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, as the PKS members staged a protest in Bandung, a
\nteam of lawyers hired by the party went to the Supreme Court
\nbuilding in Jakarta asking the justices to annul the West Java
\nHigh Court's verdict of Aug. 4. Responding to the request, the
\ndeputy chief of the Supreme Court, Mariana Sutadi, promised that
\nthe court would proceed with the appeal hearings soon.<\/p>\n
The team, including Nur Mahmudi himself, also visited the
\noffice of the Minister of Home Affairs, asking the ministry to
\nignore the verdict. However, they were unable to meet Minister M.
\nMa'ruf because he was out of town.<\/p>\n
Support for the verdict was expressed by Golkar members.
\nGolkar Party leader, Vice president Jusuf Kalla, asked all
\nparties to accept the court verdict.<\/p>\n
\"Whatever the verdict is, I, as a part of the government and
\nof Golkar, leave it to the court,\" Kalla told the press after a
\nfunction in Tangerang.<\/p>\n
The vice president said that the court must have had its own
\nlegal arguments that resulted in the verdict and all citizens,
\nwho abide by the law, should understand that. The statement was
\nechoed by Golkar deputy leader Muladi, who asked the Minister of
\nHome Affairs to inaugurate Badrul as soon as possible as the
\ncourt verdict had been \"conclusive and binding\".<\/p>",
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