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.