JP/5/palsu
Three charged councillors miss inauguration
Yuli Tri Suwarni Bandung
Three councillors-elect charged with using false diplomas were not among those sworn in on Monday to the Bandung and Cimahi regency legislatures in West Java.
The three councillors are Agus Setiadi and Tata Taryana, both elected to the Bandung council from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and Ahmad Jaoji, who was elected to the Cimahi council.
The Bale Bandung District Court acquitted Jaoji of all charges related to the use of a false diploma on Aug. 9, but he has been detained at the Kebonwaru penitentiary since Aug. 16 as prosecutor Marihot Silalahi appeals the verdict to a higher court.
The same district court is currently hearing the cases against Agus and Tata.
Under the Election Law, legislators convicted of a crime lose their legislative seats after the Supreme Court hands down a legally binding verdict.
The chairman of the Cimahi election commission, Ikin Sodikin, said on Monday his office had yet to remove Jaoji's name from the list of the elected councillors, pending a legally binding verdict.
More than 200 councillors elected in the April 5 legislative polls are facing criminal investigations on various charges, including the use of false diplomas and graft.
Meanwhile, peaceful protests marked the inauguration ceremonies for the new Bandung and Cimahi councils on Monday.
Hundreds of student demonstrators urged the 43 new Bandung councillors and the 39 new Cimahi councillors to demonstrate their commitment to fighting corruption.
The protesters, grouped in the United Front for Indonesian Muslim Students, urged the Bandung councillors to vow that they would not become involved in graft while in office.
Dozens of people from the Democratic Party staged a separate rally during the Cimahi council's inauguration. They questioned the residency status of at least two elected councillors from the party.
"The two councillors have never stayed in their houses in Cimahi, because they are actually residents of Bandung who only have domicile in Cimahi," said one of the protesters, Sarya.
However, the demonstrators declined to name the two councillors.
They urged the Cimahi General Elections Commission to investigate whether the two elected councillors held double identity cards in order to advance their political interests.