No money in kitty for Jambi election

JAMBI: The direct election of Jambi's governor might not be able to be held in accordance with the schedule set by the local election committee due to lack of money.

"At this stage, we should be publicizing the election, but we can't do this as there's no money," a member of the Jambi election committee, Azhar Mulya, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He said the committee had proposed a budget of Rp 40 billion for holding the election but the provincial administration had only allocated half this amount. "The problem is, the money is not yet available," he said.

He said the committee had proposed taking out a Rp 500 million loan from the provincial administration to fund the public information campaign.

"But so far, there's no sign that this will be approved," he said.

The lack of money now threatens to derail the election. "Just don't blame us if the election does not meet the public's expectations." -- JP