District court begins hearing bias case against Cirebon mayor

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon

Cirebon Mayor Subardi went on trial in West Java on Wednesday in a presidential election partiality case in which he reportedly campaigned for Megawati Soekarnoputri and running mate Hasyim Muzadi in the presidential election.

Prosecutors told the Cirebon District Court that the mayor was guilty of misusing his post to illegally campaign for the Megawati-Hasyim ticket ahead of the election runoff on Sept. 20.

Subardi did not obtain permission from the West Java governor and failed to report his plans for campaigning to the Cirebon General Elections Commission (KPUD), the prosecutors argued.

Law No. 23/2003 on presidential elections bans state officials from campaigning for a particular candidate unless they take leave with approval of their superiors and report to election commissions.

Those found violating the law can face a jail term of between one and six months or fined from Rp 600,000 (US$66) to Rp 6 million.

The one-hour hearing of Subardi, who also chairs the Cirebon branch of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), began at around 10 a.m. amid tight security by police. The courtroom was packed with hundreds of the defendant's supporters.

The mayor, wearing a blue shirt and necktie, looked tense during the hearing. He often gave belated answers to questions repeatedly posed by the panel of judges presided over by S. Silalahi.

Subardi's lawyers rejected all charges against their client.

"We reject the charges because the prosecutors cannot prove that any particular party was advantaged or disadvantaged by our client's actions. Therefore, we ask the judges to dismiss the case," said lawyer Agus Effendi.

The poll bias case surfaced after the Cirebon Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) obtained a video compact disc (VCD) showing Subardi illegally campaigning for Megawati on Sept. 16 during the three-day campaign period.

Panwaslu accused the mayor of violating Article 89 (4) and 40 of Law No. 23/2003 on presidential elections. He could face up to six months in prison if found guilty. However, his post in the city administration may not be jeopardized if he is convicted in the case.