Five pairs of candidates in Depok election

Five pairs of candidates in Depok election

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Five pairs of candidates have been declared eligible to contest
the mayoral election in Depok on June 26.

At least six pairs of candidates registered with the Depok
General Elections Commission (KPUD), but one pair -- Gaduh Sunu
Soemantri and running mate Agung Wicaksono -- was disqualified
from the election for failing to secure the required support from
political parties.

Candidate must be supported by a party or a coalition of
parties that obtained at least 15 percent of the total votes cast
in the 2004 legislative election.

Gaduh and Agung were nominated by several councillors from the
Democratic Party, but as of Saturday had failed to secure the
support of the party's provincial chapter and central executive
board.

"The five candidates have met all of the requirements. We have
checked all of the documents required for their candidacy," Depok
KPUD member Abdul Kholik told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

He said the Depok KPUD determined the candidates election
numbers on Saturday evening in a random drawing.

The pair of Abdul Wahab Abidin and Ilham Wijaya -- nominated
by the Democratic Party -- will be listed first on the ballot,
followed by Harun Yana and Farkhan A.R., who have been nominated
by the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Crescent Star Party
(PBB) and the Prosperous and United Development Party.

Third on the ballot will be Badrul Kamal and Syihabuddin Ahmad
of the Golkar Party, followed by Yus Ruswandi and Soetati
Dipowongso, who are the candidates of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the United Development Party (PPP) and
the Prosperous Peace Party. Nur Mahmudi Ismail and Yuyun
Wirasaputra, nominated by the Prosperous Justice Party, will be
listed fifth on the ballot.

The Prosperous Justice Party won 13 of the 45 seats in the
Depok Council in the 2004 legislative election, followed by the
Golkar Party and the Democratic Party with eight councillors
each. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the
National Mandate Party have five seats each, the United
Development Party three seats, the National Awakening Party two
seats and the Prosperous Peace Party one seat.

Kholik said there were 899,419 eligible voters for the mayoral
election, which will be held at some 2,000 polling stations on
June 26.

He said the KPUD would begin distributing photographs of the
candidates throughout the municipality on Monday to introduce
them to voters.

Kholik said campaigning would take place from June 9 to June
22, adding that the KPUD had not yet worked out a campaign
schedule for the candidates.

"The Election Supervisory Committee must begin doing its job,
monitoring the activities of the candidates to make sure that
campaigning takes place according to existing laws," he said.

The Depok municipality has allocated Rp 10 billion (US$1.05
million) to organize the election. Kholik said there would be no
funds from the state budget for the polls.

According to Kholik, the winners of the tenders to supply
ballot papers, ballot boxes, ink and other election forms would
be announced next week.

"We are now checking all tender participants to make sure that
we select companies that are capable of providing the materials
before the June 26 election," he said.

According to Law No. 32/2005 on regional administrations, to
win an election candidates must receive at least 25 percent of
the total votes cast. If no candidate reaches the 25 percent mark
in the first round of voting, the two top vote-getters will move
on to a second round of voting.