Favorite PKS suffers another upset
Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung, Lampung
A large campaign budget and full support from first-round losers were not enough to help the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) candidates win the Bandarlampung mayoral and deputy mayoral posts.
Abdul Hakim and running mate Zainal Iskandar lost to duo Eddy Sutrisno and Kherlani, who were nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party-led coalition in the runoff by a mere 3 percent.
The official result released by the local election commission on Sunday saw Eddy and Kherlani win 157,694 votes, against 148,666 for Abdul and Zainal, who had emerged the pre-race favorites. Even the vote counting conducted by the PKS confirmed the defeat.
Abdul is a House of Representatives legislator representing PKS, and one of a number of lawmakers who tried their luck in the regional elections.
The shocking defeat in Bandarlampung came just three days after former PKS president Nur Mahmudi Ismail had his victory in the election for Depok mayor in West Java overturned by the provincial high court.
Many had predicted that Abdul and Zainal would easily beat Eddy and Kherlani, who also received the backing of the United Development Party and minority parties the United Democratic Nationhood Party, the Prosperous Democratic Party, the Crescent Star Party and the Reform Star Party.
The election commission recorded the poll turnout at only 56 percent of eligible voters.
Political analyst Jauhari M. Zailani of the state Bandarlampung University said Eddy's win was further proof that personality counted the most in the direct election, rather than financial resources or support from major parties.
"Eddy spent the least during the campaign, far less than Abdul or other candidates who did not make it to the runoff. In the second round Eddy faced not only Abdul but major parties whose candidates lost in the first round, meaning personality surpasses capital," Jauhari said.
The Golkar Party, which spent Rp 10 billion (US$1.03 million) to help its candidates Sjachrazad Z.P. and Rudy Syawal win the election, the Democratic Party and the National Awakening Party announced their support for Abdul in the runoff.
Jauhari said ethnic ties also played a pivotal role in Eddy's victory.
Born to a Javanese migrant family, Eddy, who was formerly a Golkar member, won the most votes in eight districts dominated by Javanese and indigenous Lampung ethnic groups. Javanese make up most of the city's population.
Abdul, who hails from Pandeglang in Banten, won support mostly from Padang and Banten migrants. Muslim leaders had also thrown their weight behind Abdul after he pledged free education for Islamic schools. Abdul runs an Islamic boarding school in Bandarlampung.
Eddy, meanwhile, promised to provide free education for all and soft loans for small-and medium-scale entrepreneurs.
Abdul said he accepted defeat, as all candidates had signed a statement to honor the election results. But he asked the election supervisory committee to follow up reports that some voters cast ballots twice.