Presidential poll still valid: VP

Presidential poll still valid: VP

JAKARTA: Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Thursday that the
2004 presidential election remained legitimate despite the
conviction of a number of General Elections Commission (KPU)
members on corruption charges.

"The election is about the Constitution, while the criminal
acts by KPU members are another thing," he told the press at his
office.

Kalla was commenting on a statement by KPU chairman Nazaruddin
Syamsuddin, who was jailed on Wednesday for seven years for
corruption in the national poll body, that the presidential
election had been rendered "illegal" by his conviction.

The Anticorruption Court found Nazaruddin guilty of receiving
a total of Rp 5.3 billion (US$530,000) in kickbacks from
insurance company PT Bumiputra Muda, which won a Rp 14.9 billion
contract from the commission to provide insurance during the
election process. --JP