Council tries to make election look democratic
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The City Council officially announced on Thursday that it would extend an opportunity for the public to nominate candidates for the gubernatorial election, but analysts viewed the offer as a pointless exercise intended only to convince the public that the election was democratic.
"People can nominate themselves or other people as long as they meet the requirements," the election committee chairman Edy Waluyo, who is also the council's deputy chairman, told reporters.
Edy said a candidate, according to the requirements, should be at least a senior high school graduate, declare his of her assets and secure a permit from his superior if he or she is a civil servant or military/police officer.
He said that individuals or mass organizations were invited to register themselves or their candidates between June 10 and June 21.
The candidates would first be selected by the council's 11 factions between July 16 and Aug. 5 before the city's 83 councillors elected a new governor and deputy governor on Sept. 17.
Before the election, the candidates were also required to deliver a vision and mission statement about Jakarta before the council's plenary meeting between Aug. 6 and Aug. 14.
If there were no objections from the public, the newly elected governor and deputy governor would be sworn in on Oct. 7.
Objections from the public, especially over possible money politics and bribery, should be submitted to the electoral committee within three days of the election at the latest.
It will be difficult for such complaints to succeed, however, as they have to be confirmed by written statements from more than one councillor.
Separately, head of the urban division of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Tubagus H. Karbyanto viewed the council's announcement as being pointless.
"It's just paying lip service ... To make it look like a democratic and transparent election," Tubagus said.
He doubted that the candidates nominated by the public would be elected by the councillors as they had their own candidates.
Azas Tigor Nainggolan, the chairman of the Jakarta Residents Forum, concurred with Tubagus, saying that the City Council had never been serious about involving the public.
However, he said the LBH and several non-governmental organizations would nominate candidates for the office of city governor, including women's activist and lawyer Nursjahbani Katjasungkana and urban planning expert and architect Marco Kusumawijaya.
"It's just a new departure even though the councillors won't elect them. We will discuss it next week," Tubagus said.
So far, the council has received nine nominations from individuals and mass organizations.
Among the organizations, the Indonesian Disabled Veterans Corps nominated the incumbent city governor, Sutiyoso, to be reelected for a second five-year term.
Sutiyoso, who has expressed his readiness to be reelected, will also reportedly be nominated by the Unity and Justice Party (PKP).
He has also individually been supported by councillors from the largest faction on the council, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the United Development Party and the Indonesian Military (TNI)/Police faction.
Other strong candidates are the current Deputy Governor for Social Welfare Affairs Djailani and City Secretary Fauzi Bowo, who is reportedly supported by councillors from the National Mandate Party (PAN) and some smaller factions. But it is still unclear which factions will officially nominate them.
The PDI Perjuangan, which has 30 seats on the council, is divided over the election as it has reportedly nominated both its central board deputy chairman Roy BB Janis and city chapter chairman and the council deputy chairman Tarmidi Suhardjo.