Losers protest N. Sumatra election

Losers protest N. Sumatra election

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

Seven independent candidates who had contested the North
Sumatra gubernatorial election are seeking the annulment of Rizal
Nurdin's reelection on Monday, alleging that they had been
discriminated against.

Former candidate Roy Fachrobi Ginting said on Tuesday that the
election process was biased against candidates without any
political affiliation.

In his capacity as the spokesman for the other six independent
candidates, Roy said he suspected their participation in the
election was only a formality.

"Look how factions announced their candidates for the
governorship, even though the selection period hadn't finished
yet," said Roy, who is a local entrepreneur. "Such practices were
very unfavorable toward candidates who had not been nominated (by
a political group), including myself."

The North Sumatra legislative council voted on Monday 55 to 33
to reelect Rizal for another five years. Rizal was nominated by
the council's largest faction, the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan). His running mate, Rudolf Pardede,
chairs PDI Perjuangan's North Sumatra branch.

The pair must now pass a three-day grace period, during which
time their election can be annulled if the public finds fault
with the election process or with the pair's track record.

Coming in second with 33 votes was Golkar-nominated pair
Chaeruman Harahap and Serta Ginting.

Under the 2001 Regional Autonomy Law, provincial councils may
elect their own governors, and independent candidates have since
sprouted to contest gubernatorial elections across the country's
provinces.

Governor-elect Rizal and deputy governor-elect Rudolf were
among over 80 candidates who contested the election.

The registration and selection period that lasted over two
weeks, however, ended with council factions proposing only
candidates with a political background.

Roy pointed out PDI Perjuangan's nomination, which he said had
failed to take into account the entrance of independent
candidates like himself. He had reportedly hoped to win PDI
Perjuangan's backing in the election.

He also suspected that councillors had made up their minds
before the selection process even began, and thus neglected to
thoroughly screen their chosen nominees.

Otherwise, he said, the missing high school diploma of one of
the candidates could not have surfaced, as all candidates must
have graduated from high school.

Rizal had lost his high school diploma, a fact which passed by
councillors during the screening period.

Among the six other candidates are Darma Indra Siregar,
Mukhlis, Hiras Tobing, Renold Pasaribu and Maysarah Bahrum Jamil,
who had lost a lawsuit to annul the election through the local
administrative court earlier this month. Roy said they were
filing an appeal.

He added that they would also lodge a protest with the Supreme
Court and Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno.

They hoped the minister would recommend the North Sumatra
council to hold a new election, he said.

Golkar faction chairman Marzuki said that during the three-day
grace period, the council was open to complaints from the public.

However, he added that the grace period was restricted to
possible allegations of bribery among council members.