Govt delays West Java gubernatorial election
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung, West Java
Taking a lesson from other provinces, Home Minister Hari Sabarno ordered the West Java legislative council to delay the gubernatorial election until all candidates met all administrative requirements.
Chairman of the gubernatorial election committee Suyaman confirmed on Friday that he had asked the home minister to call on the legislative council to delay the gubernatorial election scheduled for May 19, since two candidates had yet to meet all administrative and legal requirements.
Danny Setiawan, a gubernatorial candidate nominated by Golkar and the United Development Party (PPP) factions, was required to get an approval from the government prosecutor's office in Bandung which was still investigating him for alleged involvement in a Rp 4.1 billion corruption case.
Rudy Harsya Tanaya, a deputy gubernatorial candidate nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and National Awakening Party (PKB) factions to accompany gubernatorial candidate Tayo Tarmadi, could not provide a senior high school diploma, which he said he had misplaced.
The local police and the Regina Pacis Senior High School in Bogor confirmed his official explanation that his certificate had been lost.
The 1999 regional autonomy law requires all candidates to be at least high school graduates.
The minister also made a similar decision to delay the gubernatorial election in North Sumatra because deputy gubernatorial candidate Rudolf Pardede nominated by PDI Perjuangan faction had no high school diploma.
The central government has taken much of the criticism for several dubious gubernatorial and regency elections in recent years.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri has declined to accept Alzier Dianis Thabranie who was elected as governor by the Lampung provincial legislature last November as the senior provincial official was involved in several corruption cases. A regency in Riau was dismissed by the regency legislature for using a fake high school diploma when he ran for office. The new governors of South and Southeast Sulawesi have face strong protests for a spate of alleged wrongdoings before they were elected.
The provincial legislative council held a meeting to respond to the home minister's letter but no decision was made on whether to accept the minister's instruction or not.
Irfan Anshori, chairman of the coalition faction at the legislature, was taken aback by the letter which he claimed was belittling toward the provincial legislative council and its rulings.
"It will be a problem if the legislative council cannot elect a new government by June 6 at which time (current) Governor Nuriana would legally have to vacate his office."