42 legislative candidates in Yogyakarta linked to PKI: KPU
42 legislative candidates in Yogyakarta linked to PKI: KPU
Slamet Susanto and Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post,
Yogyakarta/Palu
Forty-two legislative candidates in Yogyakarta are believed to
have been linked with the outlawed and now-defunct Indonesian
Communist Party (PKI), a poll official said on Tuesday.
The Yogyakarta General Election Commission (KPU) would soon
verify the report. If it was proved to be true, the commission
would ban the 42 candidates from contesting the upcoming
elections, local KPU chairman Suparman Marzuki said.
"(The KPU) obtained this information from the Yogyakarta
Military command and the Body for Unity, Public Order and
People's Protection in Yogyakarta," Suparman said.
None of the names of the 42 candidates had yet been released
to the public, he said.
They are contesting legislative seats in the Yogyakarta
provincial council, Bantul, Kulonprogo, Sleman and Gunung Kidul
regency councils and the Yogyakarta mayoralty council.
According to general election rules, candidates found to be
previously involved with the communist movement are banned from
contesting in the general election.
Supraman said the Yogyakarta KPU would confine investigations
to those legislative candidates allegedly linked to the PKI who
were competing for seats on the Yogyakarta Legislative Council.
The remaining candidates at regency levels would be summoned and
probed by the regental KPUs, respectively.
The Yogyakarta Provincial and Mayoralty Election Supervisory
Committees (Panwaslu) said they had also received similar
reports.
"We have informed the Yogyakarta KPU of the report and it is
their decision whether to ban the legislative candidates from
competing," Yogyakarta Panwaslu chairman Muhammad Wafiek said.
The election for legislative candidates is due on April 5,
while the first and second phases of the presidential elections
will be held on July 5 and Sept. 20, respectively.
The KPU and its regional offices are currently verifying
nomination papers filed by legislative candidates nationwide.
They are to announce a final, approved list of legislative
candidates on Jan. 28 and 29.
Separately in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu, the
provincial Panwaslu reprimanded six candidates of the Regional
Representative Council (DPD) and two political parties, for
campaigning before the set campaign period.
The six candidates included Kamil Badrun, the chief editor of
Radar newspaper and Faisal Mahmud, the rector of Alkhairaat
University in Palu.
Meanwhile, the two political parties in question were Golkar
Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Aminuddin Kasim, the chairman of Central Sulawesi Panwaslu,
said that some DPD candidates were reprimanded after they placed
ads in the media along with their names and photographs urging,
residents to vote for them. Some others hung banners on the
streets with their photograph.
The poll supervisory body also reprimanded the two political
parties for putting up banners in the streets. The campaign
period is slated to start on March 11 and end on April 1.
Aminuddin said that Panwaslu would first issue a warning,
before taking stronger action.
"This time, we will only reprimand them, but if they violate
the election regulations again, they will be reported to the
police," he said.