Depok awaits new mayor

Depok awaits new mayor

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Depok residents will have to wait until next month to find out
who their new mayor is, with alleged electoral violations
committed campaign teams and the regional elections commission
(KPUD) still in the courts.

The inauguration of the city's first elected mayor, former
forestry minister Nur Mahmudi Ismail and his deputy, Yuyun
Wirasaputra, was initially scheduled for Friday.

However, the West Java High Court is expected to issue a
ruling on the election on Aug. 2.

The delay was made based on the Depok Council's recommendation
last week, councillor Arsyid Susanto said.

"We sent our recommendation to the Ministry of Home
Affairs ... we included in the letter the documents of the
election result from the Depok Elections Commission (KPU Depok),"
he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Complaints mostly came from the camp of Badrul Kamal, of WHAT
PARTY the runner-up in the mayoral election.

Badrul's spokesman, Muhammad Hasan, said the campaign team had
submitted the alleged election violations of Nur Mahmudi's team
and the KPUD Depok to the Cibinong District Court on July 11.

That court then handed over the cases to the Supreme Court in
Jakarta who later authorized the West Java High Court to rule on
them.

Badrul's camp alleges that the KPUD Depok created policies
that favored Nur Mahmudi-Yuyun of the Prosperous Justice Party
(PKS), the largest political party in the municipality.

Hasan said the KPU Depok had illegally extended the voter
registration period, which could have given non-residents the
chance to register.

"Our camp found that there were many non-Depok residents who
took part in the mayoral election," he said.

Hasan also believed fake voting cards were circulated in
several areas, allowing people to vote more than once.

He said Nur Mahmudi's supporters had also circulated political
leaflets on the eve of the election, something forbidden in the
official "cooling-off" period in the days before the vote.

Hasan said the pamphlets denied accusations the former
minister was involved in corruption over the procurement of two
helicopters by the forestry ministry in 2001.

Badrul's case fingers Nur Mahmudi campaign secretary-general
Soeripto as the prime suspect.

The West Java High Court has carried out hearings regarding
the election complaints since July 20. It is expected to issue
its verdict on no later than Aug. 2 as trials on election
complaints must be completed within 14 working days.

Vote counting showed the Nur Mahmudi-Yuyun ticket won the
Depok election, defeating four other pairs -- former Depok mayor
Badrul and running mate Syihabuddin, Abdul Wahab-Ilham Wijaya,
Harun Heryana-Farkhan A.R., and Yus Ruswandi-Soetadi Dipowongso.