PPD I orders background check on councilors

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Provincial Elections Committee (PPD I) will reexamine documents supplied by the 76 city councilor candidates to establish whether they are Jakarta residents, a committee executive said on Sunday.

Head of the committee's program division Muchamad Taufik said political parties who had gained city council seats must replace legislative candidates who were not Jakarta residents.

"If we find that their KTP (identification cards) submitted to us are fake, they can be charged for having committed a crime," he told The Jakarta Post.

Taufik said that based on the Election Law, candidates for provincial legislative councils must reside in the province where they are nominated.

The regulation, however, was not directed toward legislative candidates in the national legislature or those representing the Indonesian Military (TNI), he said.

In addition to checking the identification cards, PPD I would also perform a background check on the councilors' diplomas, medical records. Their financial assets will also be audited.

Taufik said the verification process would take place this week. He did not indicate when the assessment would be completed or whether the results would be publicly announced.

He said there were no changes in the configuration of seats for the city council, even though three stembus akoord (or agreements on the pooling of leftover votes), had been annulled by the General Elections Commission (KPU).

KPU has acknowledged two stembus akoord agreements; one among eight Muslim parties and another between the Love the Nation Democratic Party (PDKB), the Indonesian Unity in Diversity Party (PBI) and the Indonesian Democrats Alliance Party (PADI).

No loose

Taufik said the Justice and Unity Party (PKP) would not loose its one seat previously gained through the leftover votes pooling mechanism.

"Even though the PKP's stembus akoord agreement with six other parties was not acknowledged by the KPU, the party could still gain the seat, because its leftover votes were enough for the seat," he said.

Voting results in the city showed the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) would grab 29 of the 76 city council seats. Also taking seats on the council will be the United Development Party (PPP) (13 seats), the National Mandate Party (PAN) (13 seats), the Golkar Party (7), the Justice Party (PK) (3), the National Awakening Party (PKB) (2) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) (1).

Another two parties, the United Party (PP), and the Indonesian Unity in Diversity Party (PBI), will each gain one seat each.

Taufik said PPD I had yet to decide whether two seats gained through the leftover votes pooling agreement among the Muslim parties would go directly to the Justice Party (PK), which gained the biggest share of the vote.

"Another one seat can go to the Crescent Star Party (PBB), which gained the second largest share of the vote, because there was another internal agreement that the total seats gained through the stembus akoord should not all be allocated to the party with the most votes," he said.

He said the electoral committee had allowed the Muslim parties two to three days to resolve the issue.

There are 85 seats on the council, nine of which are allocated to TNI.(ind)