Regental heads campaign illegally

SEMARANG: At least 17 regents and deputy regents were found to have campaigned without official leave from the Minister of Home Affairs, said a local Panwaslu member.

Under the Election Law, state officials must take official leave to campaign in order to prevent the abuse of state facilities.

Semarang Panwaslu chairman Nur Hidayat Sardini said three regents and one deputy regent had campaigned although their request for leave had not yet been approved by the minister.

Meanwhile, the home minister had approved leave for the remaining 13 regents and deputy regents on March 16, but they had already begun campaigning on March 11.

Sardini pointed out Pati regent Tasiman as an example. Tasiman had campaigned for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) starting March 11, although his request for leave, filed on March 8, was not approved until March 16.

Sardini regretted that the minister was late to respond to the requests, as the ministerial approval was given several days after the nationwide campaign period had started on March 11.

However, he also laid blame on the regents and deputy regents for filing their requests only a week before the campaign kicked off. "They should have filed their requests at least 12 days before the campaign started," he said.

He said the Panwaslu would report the poll violation to the General Elections Commission (KPU) for further investigation. -- JP