Harun awaits President's OK for governorial bid
Harun awaits President's OK for governorial bid
Imanuddin, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
With President Megawati Soekarnoputri's approval being the only
remaining requirement that Harun Alrasyid has to obtain before he
can run for the Jakarta governorship, the incumbent West Nusa
Tenggara (NTB) governor expects his candidacy to be confirmed
soon.
"If I am to be allowed to run for the Jakarta governorship, I
hope the (President's) approval will be given soon," Harun said
in the West Nusa Tenggara capital of Mataram after receiving a
delegation from the Jakarta City Council's Commission C for
financial and budgetary affairs on Thursday.
He said the delay on the issuance of the President's approval
was because the latter was very busy right now.
"It's up to the Jakarta City Council whether the Jakarta
gubernatorial election committee can accept the reason for the
delay in receiving the President's approval as the delay (on the
issuance of the approval) is not our business," he said as quoted
by Antara.
The West Nusa Tenggara governor hinted that the recommendation
from the minister of home affairs, in connection with his
participation in the Jakarta gubernatorial election, had been
delivered to the presidential office long ago. It has been
reported that the recommendation was received by the presidential
palace on June 21.
It was reportedly mentioned in the home minister's
recommendation that it was acceptable for an active governor in
one province to be elected as governor in another province.
"Therefore, we'll leave the matter for the President to
decide," he said.
Asked whether the President's approval was a determining
factor in his candidacy, Harun said: "Based on the existing
mechanism, there is no such requirement."
He, however, dismissed speculation that the delay was because
one of his rivals in the race was the incumbent Jakarta governor,
Sutiyoso, who has received Megawati's support.
"I don't think so ... Please do not relate the delay of the
issuance of the approval to that issue ... It's now an era of
openness and democracy."
The Jakarta gubernatorial election is scheduled for Sept. 17
this year.
Harun, the incumbent NTB governor, has secured the approval of
the province's legislative council to run in the Jakarta
gubernatorial election.
The former Jakarta deputy governor for economics and financial
affairs is tipped as one of four strong candidates for the
Jakarta governorship. He has expressed his readiness to contest
the election despite earlier condemnation by NTB councillors.
The other three strong contenders are Governor Sutiyoso,
incumbent Jakarta City Secretary Fauzi Bowo and incumbent Jakarta
City Council Speaker Edy Waluyo.