PDI-P barred from contesting poll in East Kalimantan
Rusman and Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post Samarinda/Medan
The East Kalimantan General Elections Commission (KPUD) ruled on Wednesday that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P) could not run for seats in the provincial council during the upcoming elections.
The decision was taken after executives of the PDI-P's East Kalimantan chapter failed to beat a midnight Tuesday deadline to file a final and valid list of the party's legislative candidates.
The Tuesday deadline was also imposed on other political parties. "The deadline passed and it cannot be extended. The party is not allowed to run for seats in the upcoming elections," said Noersyamsu Agung, the chairman of the KPUD.
He said originally there were no problems with the list of legislative candidates submitted to the KPUD by the party. The list was signed by Imam Munjiat, the chairman of the party's East Kalimantan chapter, and its secretary-general Soekardi Jarwo Putro.
But, several days ago, another list of legislative candidates signed by the two East Kalimantan PDI-P leaders was submitted to the KPUD. The names of the candidates on this second list were different from the names on the first list.
Soekardi claims that the second list was submitted without his knowledge. "I never signed a second list of legislative candidates."
Noersyamsu said the KPUD gave the party a Tuesday midnight deadline to resolve the differences, but none of the party leaders turned up.
"The KPU has no right to interfere in the internal matters of a party. The internal conflicts of a party must be settled by themselves," he said.
The KPUD invited the PDI-P executives to a meeting on Wednesday, but only Soekardi appeared. Imam Munjiat was absent from the meeting.
"I can't comment. This is an internal matter of the party," said Soekardi.
Speaking later, Imam Munjiat said the party had yet to formulate a response to the KPUD's decision. He said there would be a meeting that would be attended by all of the party chapter executives to discuss the decision.
Asked about the alleged manipulation of the second list of legislative candidates, Imam said he was prepared to face in court anyone who claimed something was amiss with the list of legislative candidates.
Separately in Medan, a panel of judges at the Medan District Court adjourned on Wednesday the trial of a lawsuit against the chairwoman of the PDI-P, Megawati Soekarnoputri.
The lawsuit began after a number of PDI-P members objected to a decision by Megawati last year to validate the leadership of the party's executive board in Medan mayoralty, chaired by Usaha Ginting.
They claimed the decision was unlawful because a plenary meeting held by the PDI-P's Medan mayoralty branch last April 12 appointed Doni Arsal Gultom as the chairman of the party's Medan branch. The party members who filed the lawsuit refused to acknowledge the leadership of Usaha Ginting.